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Carey continues to adjust
Aug. 18, 2009
(11:18 a.m.): Sometimes, UC senior linebacker Craig Carey misses playing quarterback. He’ll look over to the other side of the field where the Bearcats signal-callers are working on their five-step drops and their throwing techniques, and he’ll wistfully remember his days lining up under center. Those days, however, seem long ago. To refresh: after playing as a tight end his junior year at Elder High, he was pretty good as quarterback his senior season, completing 55.6 percent of his passes, gaining 2,382 yards of total offense, setting the school record with 396 passing yards in a game, and tossing seven touchdowns. He came to UC as a quarterback, but never actually played in a game as one. Instead, as a sophomore in 2007, he had his greatest success on special teams, and coach Brian Kelly cited him a number of times for his work on that unit. In the past two years, Carey hasn’t taken a snap in practice. So, yeah, sometimes he misses having a role on every offensive play. “At times, I do,” Carey said. “Sometimes I look down there just to see what they’re doing, but I love defense. It’s so much fun. You don’t have to worry about, if you mess up, coach Kelly yelling at you. So, that’s good.” He’s also found his niche since Kelly’s staff moved him from quarterback to defense. In 2007, he recorded 11 tackles on special teams, and that convinced the coaches to utilize that talent on defense. In 2008, they moved him to defensive end, and he’s stayed on that side of the ball ever since. Last year, he was a defensive end (though, naturally, not nearly as heralded as Connor Barwin) and he recorded four tackles and two pass break-ups in 11 games. This season, Carey has been moved to linebacker, and he’s feeling much more comfortable. “At times last year, it was a struggle,” said Carey, who's on top of the preseason depth chart at one of the outside linebacker spots. “Coming over from quarterback, I wasn’t as strong as Connor or the other D-linemen, but I tried to use my speed and quickness to get away from all the big guys in the trenches. Everything happens for a reason. It didn’t work out there for a reason. If I play at linebacker, there’s a reason for that happening. This should go well.”
Particularly since the Bearcats are making more of a switch to a 3-4 defensive alignment. That makes Carey more of a hybrid linebacker – a role Barwin began filling toward the end of last season – where he 1) can line up in the middle of the defense or 2) can move to the line of scrimmage and rush the passer. “They have me playing both spots,” Carey said. “I can get in that thee-point stance and rush off the end if I need to or I can move back into pass coverage and utilize my athleticism.” Said BK: “He’s a really important player for us. He gives us a lot of flexibility. We felt, when we went to the 3-4, that he would fit that hybrid position. “He’s not physically in the category of a Connor Barwin, but he has the ability to do both like Connor. Robby Armstrong can’t do that. Demetrius (Jones) can’t do that. Walter (Stewart) can’t do that. Maybe Curtis Young can do a little bit of that. Craig is a very valuable piece to our scheme.” Carey just hopes he can live up to those expectations. Senior linebacker Andre Revels sees no reason why he won’t. Since Carey moved to defense, Revels has seen nothing but progression from Carey. “Since he’s transferred over, he’s 100 percent into it,” Revels said. “You can see that just from the way he plays and his attitude toward being in the game. It doesn’t matter if he’s playing quarterback, tight end or linebacker. It doesn’t matter. He just seems like he’s really enjoying the game. If you cut on the film from spring practices and the film from our fall practice, you can see a major difference. It’s like night and day. He’s a completely different player. “
At the very least, you should come to meet them and shake their hands. And, of course, buy a book.
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