Katie Carrera | SPORTS SENIOR WRITER
kc207604@ohiou.edu
David Carter ran his downfield route in the first quarter against Eastern Michigan and watched a pass sail to another receiver. No big deal. The completion was what mattered, but after the play a comment caught his attention.
What are you doing out here? an Eagles safety jeered. You're not the receiving tight end.
Ironic, Carter thought afterward, that the same game he was loudly stereotyped as nothing more than a traditional, blocking tight end, he caught the first two touchdowns of his career; beating the snippy safety on man-to-man coverage for the second.
We let him know about that
Carter said with a wry smile. It's interesting he thought that I couldn't catch but I thought the whole thing was kind of funny myself.
Carter understands why opposing defenders tend to think that the only thing he can do is block. Despite his 15 receptions for 253 yards and two touchdowns he hasn't been a collegiate tight end for long.
Before he transferred to Ohio University in 2006, Carter played the two previous seasons as a defensive end at Vanderbilt. He appeared in 17 games with the Commodores, had 10 tackles, including two for a loss and a sack as a sophomore, and was poised to compete for a starting defensive end spot as a junior.
But Carter, who played tight end and quarterback in addition to defensive end in high school, was willing to walk away from the Southeastern Conference to see how good of a tight end he could be.
I liked D-end but I always wanted to give (tight end) a shot
Carter said. I had two years left with my redshirt
so I thought if I'm ever going to get the chance
now's as good of a time as ever.
Carter began fishing for possible schools and contacted the recruiting coordinator who tried to bring him to the Bobcats as a defensive end while Brian Knorr was-
Germano said. He wasn't a kid sitting on the bench looking for playing time ' he was a kid playing. It was shocking to me that here's a kid in the Southeastern Conference who's playing and wants to transfer to a so-called mid-major school.
But the athleticism and unassuming personality Carter exuded while attending Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia stuck with Germano. As the only member of Knorr's staff to be retained when Frank Solich took over in 2005, Germano was the only person in Athens who could judge if Carter would be a good fit for the Bobcats.
He vouched for the Waynesboro, Pa., native without a second thought.
I told them I'd take him at tight end right now
Germano recalled. Thank goodness Frank and his staff trusted my instincts and I knew enough about him. It's paid off.
Finding a place to play tight end, as Carter realized, was the easy part of making the transition. He hadn't run a route in years, his footwork was off and he needed to change his mindset when on the line of scrimmage from creating blitzes to blocking them.
Carter's technique improved as he worked with Ohio's scout-team offense as a redshirt in 2006, but he was anxious to practice with the offensive starters in the spring. But just two days into spring workouts, he suffered a small tear in his left quadriceps muscle that required a slow rehab.-
which is something he's never done
so I helped him out with that and whatever else comes up
said Mooney, who quickly credited improvements in his own play to Carter.
He's given me a lot of help with how to read a defensive end
