TOWSON, Md. - Growing up in an NFL family and attending a high school that has seen a number of its graduates succeed in professional sports stirred Tiger defensive back Christian Carpenter to imagine he might someday play for pay too.
“I've got to get a little bigger and a little stronger but I'm hopeful,” says the 6-2, 185 pound sophomore Tiger safety. “That's why I chose Towson. I figured it would give me the best opportunity to achieve that.”
Carpenter is not the average daydreamer. He's been influenced by an athletic family and a number of Aberdeen High School alums who went on to professional careers.
Both of Christian's parents attended Syracuse University. His mother, Davita, was a four-year letter winner on the women's basketball team. His dad, Rob, played wide receiver for the Orange and was the 109th player taken by Cincinnati in the fourth round of the 1991 NFL draft. A wide receiver, he played for the New England Patriots, the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles before a knee injury ended his career in 1995.
Then there's the group from Aberdeen that includes Irvin Pankey, Cal Ripken, Jr., E.J. and Eric Henderson and Gary Neal. Pankey played for Aberdeen in the 1970's, became an All-American at Penn State and enjoyed an All-Pro, 12-year career at offensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams. Ripken, of course, had a legendary career in major league baseball. The Hendersons both attended Maryland and each was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings. E.J. has since retired. Erin is in his sixth year with the Vikings.
Neal, a former Tiger who set the CAA scoring average record (25.6) in his senior year, wore an Aberdeen uniform for three years before transferring to Calvert Hall where he finished his interscholastic career. After three NBA seasons with the San Antonio Spurs he is currently a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I'd heard of them but only really met E.J.,” says Carpenter.
Christian's own career at Aberdeen was spectacular. As a wide receiver his senior year, he caught 64 passes for 1,112 yards and 14 touchdowns. On defense he recorded 148 tackles and intercepted six passes as the Eagles turned it around from 1-9 the year before to a 10-3 mark that included an appearance in the Maryland state semifinals.
“I wasn't too heavily recruited because I had some injury problems,” he admits. “I fractured both feet. I played in only four games my junior year but I worked through the injuries.”
Why Towson?
“Towson gave me the option to play either wide receiver or defensive back,” Carpenter says. “After talking with the coaches and my parents we decided the best way for me to help this team reach its goals would be to make plays on the defensive side.”
He's doing that. In last week's 48-32 win at Richmond he swiped a Spider pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. It's one of three pick-sixes for Towson this year, the most for the Tigers in a single season since 2004. Carpenter is currently tied for the team lead with three interceptions. He's tied for fourth on the tackle list with 46 in just seven games. He didn't suit up for Towson's first two games this season because of a concussion he suffered in summer camp. But as soon as he was cleared to play he stepped into the starting role.
“Scoring touchdowns is always part of the conversations we have among ourselves in the secondary,” says Carpenter who calls on his skills as a wide receiver when defending against the pass. “The coaches put us in position to win games. It's up to us to make the plays and if we can, put points of our own on the scoreboard.”
Carpenter has two plus years left at Towson to develop into a NFL caliber defensive back. As he ponders the journey there are a couple of other names to throw at him – Chad Scott and Madieu Williams, former Tigers whose college careers began at Towson. Scott, a cornerback, was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 24th pick in the 1997 college draft and later played for the Patriots. Williams, a safety, was a second round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2004 who has also played for the Vikings, 49ers and Redskins.
“My father has been honest with me about my chances,” Christian says. “He thinks I can do it.”
And that's a good enough reason for him to strive to meet that goal.
