Carr hopes to drive to starting spot
April 8th, 2008, 8:59 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Zeiger
Last season, Terell Carr was rated as the No. 3 junior college cornerback in the nation by JCFootball.com. (Jennifer Grimes/Tribune)
Terell Carr could do a lot worse than follow the lead of Justin Tryon, who came to Arizona State as a junior college transfer, enjoyed two successful seasons as a starter and developed into an NFL draft prospect.
“I don’t want to say I want to follow in his path, because I want to establish myself,” said Carr, who attended Pasadena (Calif.) City College and chose ASU over West Virginia, Minnesota and South Florida. “But he is someone who did a lot of good things here.”
Halfway through spring practice, the junior is right on schedule, as he is first in line to succeed Tryon at the cornerback spot opposite Omar Bolden. He will continue being pushed by at least three other players currently in camp — as well as incoming freshmen Deveron Carr and Josh Jordan, who arrive in the fall — but Terell Carr is confident that he will remain atop the depth chart.
“The competition is there, but I’m going to keep working, said Carr, a 5-foot-9, 180-pounder who had seven interceptions, 13 pass breakups and 45 tackles at Pasadena last season. “I feel that I will be starting come September. …
“The pace is a whole different ballgame coming from junior college. Even the drills are high-tempo. You are definitely at another level up.”
Carr said the biggest culture shock has come from — not surprisingly — the speed of the Division I game. On the Sun Devils’ practice field, receivers are more polished, and quarterbacks get the ball to the target much faster.
However, his junior-college playing time is one of Carr’s biggest assets, first-year cornerbacks coach Greg Burns said. Carr has more successful playing experience the last two years than his current ASU competition: juniors Travis Smith and Grant Crunkleton and JC transfer walk-ons Pierre Singfield and Cameron Harkey.
“Carr is mature, and he understands how to play the position,” Burns said. “He’s been around the block.
“I like Terell. He is learning quickly in a situation where he is having a lot thrown at him in terms of details on coverages. But the athleticism is there. He has to clean up some mistakes, but he’ll be all right.”
During Saturday’s scrimmage, receiver Brandon Smith caught two passes in front of Carr, who was also flagged for a defensive holding penalty that continued a drive. The slower JC game enabled Carr to be more physical, but now, he said that he is trying to find the right mix of muscle and cover skills.
“At this level, you have to cover,” Carr said. “I’m trying to keep my hands off of (the receivers) and not try to bench-press them at the line. It will take time to get the feel of covering and being physical. …
“But I made the right decision to come (to ASU). I’m having a good time on and off the field. Now, it’s time to get to work.”
There were no surprises in the mid-spring depth chart released on Tuesday:
OFFENSE
WR — 1 Michael Jones; 5 Kerry Taylor; 9 Brandon Smith
LT — 59 Jon Hargis or 72 Tom Njunge; 70 Mike Marcisz
LG — 67 Shawn Lauvao; 74 Brent Good; 92 Chris Scott
C — 56 Thomas Altieri or 52 Garth Gerhart; 68 Trent Marsh
RG — 63 Paul Fanaika; 66 Matt Hustad; 69 Curtis Cole
RT — 75 Richard Tuitu’u; 77 Adam Tello; 50 Nick Emanuele
TE — 80 Dane Guthrie; 88 Andrew Pettes; 84 Jovon Williams
WR — 13 Chris McGaha; 16 Nate Kimbrough; 86 T.J. Simpson
SLOT — 5 Kerry Taylor or 6 Kyle Williams; 16 Nate Kimbrough
TE (in two-TE formation) — 84 Jovon Williams; 37 Wes Evans
QB — 12 Rudy Carpenter; 15 Danny Sullivan; 8 Chasen Stangel
TB — 24 Keegan Herring; 31 Dimitri Nance; 20 Jarrell Woods
DEFENSE
LE — 97 Luis Vasquez; 34 James Brooks
DT — 99 Jonathan English; 71 Saia Falahola
DT — 90 David Smith; 65 David Bertrand; 54 Paul Unga
RE — 58 Dexter Davis; 45 Jamarr Robinson; 98 Zach Brown
SLB — 44 Travis Goethel; 30 Derrall Anderson; 46 Jeff Bereuter
MLB — 47 Gerald Munns; 25 Mike Nixon; 52 Morris Wooten
WLB — 2 Ryan McFoy; 18 Oliver Aaron; 21 Colin Parker
CB — 32 Omar Bolden; 6 Grant Crunkleton; 31 Pierre Singfield
CB — 5 Terell Carr; 17 Travis Smith
FS — 14 Troy Nolan; 19 Max Tabach; 15 Angelo Fobbs-Valentino
SS — 22 Rodney Cox; 7 Jeremy Payton; 8 Jarrell Holman
SPECIALISTS
K — 28 Thomas Weber; 43 Zach Richards
P — 28 Thomas Weber; 43 Zach Richards
KR — 13 Chris McGaha; 6 Kyle Williams
PR — 6 Kyle Williams; 13 Chris McGaha; 9 Brandon Smith
SN — 57 Thomas Ohmart; 44 Travis Goethel; 25 Mike Nixon
H — 15 Danny Sullivan; 13 Chris McGaha
ASU did nickel-formation practice work for the first time this spring on Tuesday, and safety Jarrell Holman, who moved from cornerback while redshirting last year, got the first shot at nickelback. Jeremy Payton, who has been a nickel mainstay the last two years, is also a candidate.
“We want to see what he can do,” coach Dennis Erickson said of Holman. “He played on the corner corner for a while, so he has those coverage skills, but he has shown so far this spring that he can be physical.”
Newcomer Tom Njunge, a teammate of Terell Carr at Pasadena City College, lined up with the first-team offense at left tackle, where converted defensive lineman Jon Hargis had been since the start of drills.
Receiver Kerry Taylor was in an orange (non-contact) jersey due to a mild concussion suffered on Saturday. Defensive tackle David Smith (concussion) and linebacker Oliver Aaron (concussion) remained limited, but running back Keegan Herring (neck) and receiver Nate Kimbrough (hamstring) were back at full participation.
Of Herring, who was held to two carries on Saturday, Erickson said, “He could have gone (during the scrimmage), but I said, “Why?’ He didn’t need to be in there to prove anything. But it was almost like a fistfight to get him to sit out. I’m glad it didn’t happen, because I would have lost.”
