Cougar coverage
Crete-Monee grad Carroll intercepting passes with regularity for St. Xavier
St. Xavier junior Ron Carroll actually learned one of his most important skills for football on the baseball field.
Little did he know that playing center field growing up was going to help him become of the top safeties in the NAIA with an incredible nose for the ball when it comes to interceptions.
“I have good eye coordination because I had played baseball,” Carroll said. “I was a center fielder, and playing that position all of those years gave me an extra step as a safety.”
Carroll, a Crete-Monee graduate, burst onto the scene in 2019 with five interceptions in 11 games. He was 10th in the nation for interceptions per game and 13th overall.
He played in seven of the eight games during the abbreviated spring season. While he only snared one interception, he was second on the team with 60 tackles, blocked a kick against St. Francis and forced a fumble against Roosevelt. He was named second team all-conference.
Now, he’s back to picking off passes with regularity for the Cougars (3-1), who are ranked No. 18 in the nation by the coaches and host No. 13 Olivet Nazarene at noon Saturday.
The Cougars earned a forfeit win Saturday over Roosevelt, but in three games, Carroll has two interceptions. He has eight for his career, and the program record is 15. He has six or more possible games to play this year, a full season in 2022, and has been granted an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic.
It isn’t just baseball that helped Carroll become a force, however. He studies film intently. He said as a sophomore, opposing quarterbacks were not targeting him as much, so he has worked hard to try to be at the right place at the right time.
“Going into the game, you have to know who the quarterback’s favorite target is and his favorite
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concepts for the routes,” Carroll said. “I do a lot of studying film on that. I’m always in a great position to make a play.”
St. Xavier coach Mike Feminis said Carroll could be an All-American by the time he graduates.
“Ron is the complete package as a safety,” Feminis said. “He’s extremely athletic and has the ability to play man against any receiver. Ron’s instincts and ball skills are exceptional, and you can maybe attribute some of that to him being a fantastic outfielder in baseball.
“Then you combine all that with his great closing speed and being such a sure tackler. I don’t know if there’s a better safety in the country on our level.”
Carroll is one of four Crete-Monee players on St. Xavier’s roster.
Sophomore running back Amari Venerable, who leads the team with 253 yards, was named the league’s offensive player of the week after running for 134 yards on Sept. 25 in a stunning 38-0 win over No. 13 St. Francis of Indiana.
Senior lineman Jaleel Holloway is a two-time first team all-conference selection who has returned to the lineup after suffering a torn left labrum in the spring. He has two sacks. Junior defensive back Khyre Mitchell has five tackles.
Carroll, who also leads the team this season with 32 tackles, is looking forward to Saturday’s game against Olivet as the Cougars continue to climb the rankings and seek to avenge a 34-10 loss in the spring.
“This is a really big game for all of us because of what happened in the spring,” he said. “They hadn’t beaten us since 2005, so that kind of left a bad taste in my
mouth.”