Adam Carriker

Infobox NFLactive


currentteam=St. Louis Rams
currentnumber=90
currentposition=Defensive tackle
birthdate=birth date and age|1984|5|6
birthplace=Hastings, Nebraska
heightft=6
heightin=6
weight=308
debutyear=2007
debutteam=St. Louis Rams
highlights=
* Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year (2006)
* First-Team All-Big 12 (2005, 2006)
* St. Louis Rams Rookie of the Year (2007)
college=Nebraska
draftyear=2007
draftround=1
draftpick=13
pastteams=
* St. Louis Rams (2007-present)
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=Tackles
statvalue1=30
statlabel2=Sacks
statvalue2=2.0
statlabel3=INTs
statvalue3=0
nfl=CAR485536

Adam Eugene Carriker, (born on May 6, 1984), is a defensive tackle for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Nebraska. He is married to the former Angela McBride, the sister of former Nebraska defensive end Jeff McBride.

High school career

Carriker attended Kennewick High School, where he played quarterback and defensive end. He was a three-year starter at quarterback and team captain for three years. In his only season at defensive end (his senior season), he recorded 25 tackles, 15 sacks, and four forced fumbles in a winless season. Regardless, he was named to 2nd-team All-Big 9 Honors. Carriker visited Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State before finally deciding to commit to Nebraska. Additionally, Carriker was a three-time All-Conference selection in baseball and ran track for one year.

College career

Carriker redshirted in 2002. In his his 2003 freshman season playing extensively in passing situations before injuring his ankle against Utah State. Against the University of Colorado he had three quarterback hurries and ended a CU drive in the third quarter with a nine-yard sack of quarterback Joel Klatt. He finished the year with three tackles and three quarterback hurries. He played in his first bowl game, the 2003 Alamo Bowl after the regular season.

In his 2004 sophomore year Carriker was hampered for the second straight season by an ankle injury. He played in 10 games with eight starts in the 2004 campaign, and finished with 36 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and three sacks for 18 yards. Carriker added seven quarterback hurries during his sophomore season.

As a junior in 2005 Carriker started all 12 games at the base end spot, and finished with 9.5 sacks for 84 yards and 17 tackles for loss for 96 yards. His 9.5 sacks tied for the Big 12 Conference lead and ranked 19th nationally. He also led Nebraska with 21 quarterback hurries, 10 more than any other Husker defender. Carriker’s 43 total tackles ranked seventh on the team and tied for the most among defensive linemen. He began his junior season by notching two of the Huskers’ school-record tying 11 sacks in the team’s 25-7 win over Maine. Carriker capped 2005 with one tackle in the Alamo Bowl victory over the University of Michigan. Adam was voted 2005 Nebraska Defensive MVP.

As a senior in 2006 Adam Carriker completed a dominant career in the 2006 season Cotton Bowl against Auburn University. In 2006, Carriker earned Nebraska’s Defensive MVP honor for the second straight season, and was honored as the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year by the league’s coaches.

Carriker finished the season with a team-leading seven sacks and ranked second on the team with 16 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. His 52 total tackles led all Nebraska defensive linemen, and he also paced the Blackshirt defense with 12 quarterback hurries, while registering his first career interception.

In addition to his selection as Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, Carriker was a first-team All-Big 12 pick by the Big 12 Coaches and the Associated Press. He was also a third-team All-America selection by Rivals.com.

The strong senior season put Carriker’s name in a prominent position in the NU record books. He finished with 41 career tackles for loss to rank fifth in the program’s history. Carriker has 20.5 career sacks to rank sixth on the Cornhusker charts. Carriker graduated with a degree in business administration.

College Statistics

Key: G - Games played; GP - Games started; TT - Total Tackles; TFL - Tackles for Loss; Sacks - Quarterback sacks; PBU - Passes broken up; Hurries - Quarterback hurries

NFL career

NFL Combine

"Height": 6'6"; "Weight": 297
"40-yard time": 4.87; "20-yard time": 2.81; "10-yard time": 1.60
"Vertical Jump": 33-1/2"; "20-yard shuttle": 4.18; "3-cone drill": 7.06
"225 bench press": 33 reps

Carriker had what scouts called "a great Senior Bowl week" and had a solid combine performance. Carriker's demonstrated agility by running the 2nd fastest 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone drills among defensive ends, despite his nearly 300 pounds. [ [http://www.finheaven.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217983 Finheaven.com] ]

Nebraska Pro Day

"Height": 6'6"; "Weight": 298
"40-yard time": 4.85; "Bench press": 440 lbs; "Squat": 600 lbs; "Power clean": 370 lbs.

Many spectators expected Carriker would go to the 49ers at the 11th pick, and said Jamaal Anderson would go to St.Louis. However San Francisco took Patrick Willis at No.11, and St. Louis then took Adam at No.13.

NFL career

On July 26, 2007, Carriker signed a five-year $14.5 million contract, with guarantees of $9.5 million. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp07/news/story?id=2951187 ESPN.com] ] Carriker started all 16 games of his rookie season at nose tackle instead of his college position, defensive end. Carriker, who bulked up from the 296 pounds he weighed at the NFL combine, weighed in the 305-pound range during the 2007 season.

He was voted the Rams Rookie of the Year called the Carroll Rosenbloom Memorial Award, finishing with 2 sacks, 30 tackles, and a safety. The Rams have indicated that Carriker will move to the "under-tackle" position from the nose tackle spot in 2008. With the addition of Chris Long at defensive end, the possibility of Carricker moving to end, his college positon seems much less likely. With the injuries to Leonard Little, there has been specuation in the St. Louis media that Carriker could move outside to defensive end if Little was unable to return.

References

External links

* [http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=966&Q_SEASON=2006 Nebraska Cornhuskers bio]
* [http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/players/61293/ St. Louis Rams bio]