Eagles Carter takes unusual path to football excellence
He grew up playing football on Friday nights for his high school team. ... Yet for Toure Carter of the Ashland Eagles to reach his ultimate goal, he hopes to be playing the sport he loves on Sundays. Although this is the game that Carter has loved for most of his life, you would be rather surprised as to his introduction to the sport. At the tender age of eight years old, his older, stronger cousin tossed a pass in Carter’s direction. ... Ever since that first pass, Carter has been so infatuated with football that he even made life-altering changes to allow himself better chances to gain exposure from college coaches. Of that initial pass, Carter said “Since my cousin hit me in the face back when I was younger, I’ve absolutely loved football.” When he started his football career, Carter took the normal steps to stardom. ... The offensive-minded Carter excelled at quarterback, running back and even linebacker and defensive end. However, Carter could only stay young for so long, and his fascinating story began to take shape. While only a freshman at Rhodes High School in Cleveland, Carter’s varsity football career didn’t last long. After one early season practice, teammates tried to “haze” Carter. ... ” Understandably, Carter didn’t show up for practice the next day—or the rest of the season. ... Carter was still an extremely useful player on the field, as he starred at tailback, quarterback and wide receiver. ... Of his first experience at safety, Carter says “I had no idea what I was doing. ... ” Regardless, Carter still was named to the All-Conference team for his offensive skills and was an honorable mention on the All-State squad. ... Although Carter’s coach, Mark Lauderer, thought he could fare no better than to become a Division III football player, other coaches at Carnegie Mellon believed differently. Teddy Jackson, the running backs coach for the Ferncreek Tigers, of Louisville, Kentucky, told Carter that he could be a “star” at his school and he could help Carter immensely in his search for a college or university. Jackson gave Carter his phone number and told Carter that he could stay with him and his family in their Kentucky home. Shocked by this offer and justifiably upset at Lauderer for downplaying his talent, Carter decided to take his athletic skills to Louisville.