By Bill Coats
Of the Post-Dispatch
05/06/2005
Rams Carter
Oddly, the oldest participant at last week's rookie minicamp, Jeremy Carter, also arrived at Rams Park with the least football experience.
Oddly, the oldest participant at last week's rookie minicamp also arrived at Rams Park with the least football experience.
Wide receiver Jeremy Carter, 25, played only one season in college. And that was six years ago, at Western Carolina. Save for five games last summer with the semipro Triangle Rattlers of Durham, N.C., Carter had been out of the game since 1999.
But he hadn't given up on it quite yet. "I have a passion for football; I love football," said Carter, who is not to be confused with Jerome Carter, a safety from Florida State who was a fourth-round draft pick by the Rams.
Jeremy Carter's affection was overtaken for a time by his potential in track. A standout sprinter and hurdler at Leesville Road High in Raleigh, Carter transferred after his freshman year to East Carolina, which had a better track program. He'd planned to play football there, too.
"I transferred ... with the arrangement, supposedly, that my coach would let me play football. It was understood," Carter said. "After a year, I was pretty successful on the track, and he decided he didn't want to take the risk of me getting hurt. So, he didn't let me play.
"I can understand the decision; it was a business decision. But it kind of hurt me."
Carter became an All-American at East Carolina, but once college was finished, so, too, was his career in athletics. Or so it seemed. But now, Carter is getting a chance to follow other sprinters such as "Bullet" Bob Hayes and Willie Gault and make a successful transition from track to NFL turf.
That's partly because Rams scout Tom Marino has a deep memory. "Tom remembered him from when he played football at Western Carolina and kept track of him," Rams general manager Charley Armey explained. "(Marino) found out he was working in California and contacted him."
Carter, who said he's "always stayed in shape," had been honing his pass-catching skills. Back home in Raleigh, he'd hook up "anyone I could get to throw to me. When I was in California, I had Aaron Rodgers throwing to me."
The same Aaron Rodgers who was Green Bay's first-round pick in the draft - the second quarterback selected. "Not bad," Carter said, laughing.
After working out for Marino, Carter signed April 21 to a one-year contract. To prepare for minicamp, Carter said he would "run, run, run, and catch. I caught at least a hundred balls a day."
Five wideouts went through the three days of drills, including sixth-round draft choice Dante Ridgeway and Brandon Middleton, who...
-05-07-2005, 06:39 AM
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