Long-distance Huskers fan has new world to conquer

***RamWraith*** · -05-01-2007

By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Apr. 30 2007

Although he says he retains only "vague memories" of Hastings, Neb., where he
spent the first three years of his life before moving to eastern Washington,
Adam Carriker grew up a devoted Cornhuskers football fan.

So when Nebraska dangled a scholarship, Carriker didn't hesitate to grab it.

"I was offered by all the Northwest schools, and a lot of the Pac-10 schools
talked to me," said Carriker, the Rams' first-round draft pick (No. 13
overall). "But Nebraska was the school I wanted to play for. When they offered,
it was pretty academic."

David Carriker is a native of Goldman, Neb., who made sure that his son was
fully exposed to Nebraska football. "I always watched on TV," Adam said. "If we
couldn't get the game (on network or cable), my dad would pay for it. And if he
couldn't get it on pay-per-view ... well, he'd be ticked off."

The family made several return trips to Nebraska, but Adam never witnessed a
Huskers home game until he suited up for his first contest as a freshman. "We
could never get tickets; it's impossible," he explained.

A former quarterback at Kennewick (Wash.) High, the 6-foot-6 Carriker muscled
up to nearly 300 pounds and wound up starting 34 games on the defensive line
for the Huskers. He was used mostly at end, but he also saw action inside
during certain situations. He piled up 134 tackles, including 20½ sacks.

Playing for his favorite college was "kind of surreal for a little bit,"
Carriker said. "It's kind of like this right now: I know I'm a Ram, I know I'm
here. But it's kind of surreal. Once you get the pads on and start practicing,
it'll start being real then."

Carriker vs. Incognito

The careers of Carriker and Rams guard Richie Incognito overlapped for three
years at Nebraska. They butted heads often in practice, an experience Carriker
called "interesting. He's a fierce competitor."

The two once scrapped after a particularly heated duel in a goal-line
scrimmage. "Some punches were thrown," Carriker recalled. "He might say
different, but I'm going to say I won."

Delayed arrival

The last few days have been "a whirlwind," said Carriker's wife of four months,
Angie. She received her degree in exercise science from Nebraska on Thursday.
Two days later, the newlyweds were bound for St. Louis.

The trip didn't go as planned, however. They left from a small airport in
nearby Pasco, Wash. — just across the Columbia River from Kennewick — to Salt
Lake City, where a connecting flight was to get them to St. Louis on Saturday
evening. But that plane was grounded because of mechanical problems, so they
had to spend the night in Utah.

They finally arrived Sunday and hustled to Rams Park, where they met with team
officials and Adam addressed the media.

Coached by a legend

Clemson center Dustin Fry, the Rams' fifth-round selection Sunday, played for
record-setting coach John McKissick at Summerville (S.C.) High. McKissick is
the only coach at any level of football to win 500 games.

"It was interesting, just being part of a legend," Fry said. "It's kind of nice
to have that on your résumé."

McKissick, 80, has 543 victories in 55 seasons and remains Summerville's head
coach.

Fan of Bruce, Holt

Wide receiver Derek Stanley, a seventh-round pick, never has met veterans Isaac
Bruce and Torry Holt. Still, he feels as if he knows them well.

Entering his senior year at NCAA Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, Stanley was
given a tape by an assistant coach and told to absorb as much as he could. The
"stars" were Bruce and Holt.

"So I've been watching film on Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt all year," Stanley
said. "These are guys that you look up to, so it's unbelievable for me to have
the opportunity to suit up with these guys and learn from them."