|
College Sports in the Carolinas
|
View
from the 'ville
Friday,
July 15, 2005
By Al Myatt |
 |
Carter sprinting full
throttle toward NFL spot
©2005 Bonesville.net
Former East Carolina sensation Jeremy Carter
wanted to play football for the Pirates but his school record speed and
All-American status were limited to
Coach Bill Carson's track program.
Now Carter, 25, is faster than ever, according
to his former ECU coach, and he's trying to make up for lost time on the
gridiron. In the NFL, tenths of seconds in the 40-yard dash can translate
into millions of dollars.
After showing the St. Louis Rams some 4.34
wheels, the NFL club is giving Carter a look at receiver. Carter told the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch he has run 4.21. As 40's go, that's world class.
Carter's name is in the ECU record books as a
member of the sprint medley team that ran 3:19 in the Sea Ray Relays in
2001. The event consists of two 200-meter legs, a 400 and an 800. Carter ran
the second 200 meters.
Carson recalled that Carter, who transferred
to ECU after being named Southern Conference freshman of the year in track
at Western Carolina, contributed to the school record time despite a bad
exchange as he took the baton.
Carter earned All-American honors for the
Pirates as a member of the 4x100 relay team that finished seventh in the
NCAA outdoor meet in 2002.
Carter was a high school teammate of Brian
Rimpf's at Leesville Road in Raleigh and he would liked to have utilized
Rimpf's blocking ability as a Pirate. Rimpf, a 3-year All-Conference USA
offensive lineman at ECU, made the Baltimore Ravens roster in 2004.
The gate to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was closed
to Carter at ECU.
"I transferred (from Western Carolina) ...
with the arrangement, supposedly, that my coach would let me play football,"
Carter told the St. Louis paper. "After a year I was pretty successful on
the track, and he didn't want to take the risk of getting me hurt. So, he
didn't let me play."
That wasn't exactly the case, according to
Carson.
The Pirates track coach said Carter's release
from Western only applied to track and didn't allow him to play football
elsewhere.
Carson said he recruited Carter out of high
school but the former state 4-A champion hurdler opted for a football grant
with the Catamounts. Carter was MVP of the state meet when Leesville Road
won the 4-A title in 1998. He was state champion in both hurdle events.
Carter set a school record in the 100-meter at
Western (10.5) in 1999.
"He wanted to play football," Carson said.
"But he couldn't do it. Western Carolina released him for track, not
football. I think he would have been a good receiver. I think he would have
helped East Carolina."
Carter worked out on pro day at ECU after the
2004 season as NFL scouts assembled data on Pirate prospects. But Carson
said Carter was tight and didn't show his full speed or potential.
"He had a bad day," Carson said. "He was
putting too much pressure on himself."
Carter played five games last summer for the
Durham-based Triangle Rattlers, a semipro football team. That and one season
in the program at Western are the sum total of Carter's post-prep football
experience.
But Carter, who attended a Rams mini-camp at
the end of June, possesses a passion for the game and longs to make the most
of his chance to play on Sundays.
The Rams are well stocked at the receiver
positions with Issac Bruce, Torry Holt, Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald. Two
receiver spots are open with seven candidates, including Carter, in full
pursuit.
Cary-based Rams scout Tom Marino had tracked
Carter since his days at Western and hooked him up with a shot. Marino found
out Carter was working out in California with Green Bay's first round draft
choice, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and got in touch.
"He has some talent," said Rams general
manager Charley Armey.
"Since he's been out of college, he's gotten
faster," Carson said. "He's done strength work and he's matured physically."
Carter was not overshadowed in the mini camp
by Rams sixth round draft choice Dante Ridgeway or by Brandon Middleton, who
spent a portion of last season with the NFL club.
Bob Hayes, Willie Gault, Ron Brown and Renaldo
"Skeets" Nehemiah are among those who have gone from football to track and
done so "going away."
Former ECU defensive back Dwight Henry also
ran for Carson and later played arena football. But Henry also played
football at ECU.
Still, Carter doesn't lack for confidence as
he tries to parlay his speed and desire into a pro contract.
"I feel like I fit," he said. "I don't feel
uncomfortable at all."
If that 4.21 is legit and if Carter becomes a
Ram, there are some NFL corners who may feel a little uncomfortable in man
coverage.
 Send an e-mail message to Al Myatt.
Click here to dig into Al Myatt's Bonesville
archives.
02/23/2007 12:33:16 AM
----- |
