Trick catches are in Carter’s genes
Son of storied NFL receiver has his dad’s deft touch when it comes to hauling in ball
Duron Carter greatly appreciates a hands-me-down from his famous father.
Like Pro Football Hall of Fame pass-catcher Cris Carter, Duron — a 26-year-old receiver with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders — is blessed with an uncanny ability to make seemingly impossible catches look routine.
Hence the question: When you are Cris Carter’s son, are you automatically born with all-pro hands?
“I guess so,” Duron says with his omnipresent smile. “I’ve always been able to catch. It’s just something that I’ve always been able to do.
“I used to play quarterback in high school. They switched me to receiver because I could catch. It’s something that I’ve always been able to do. I never, per se, worked on it so much.
“My dad and I stretch our hands a lot. You’re always playing with your fingers and always keeping them flexible. I think that really helps.”
Those techniques helped Cris Carter amass 1,101 catches and 130 touchdown receptions — eye-popping totals that, at the time of his retirement, were second only to the incomparable Jerry Rice in NFL history.
Duron Carter displayed his own receiving talents for twoplus seasons with the Montreal Alouettes before signing with Saskatchewan earlier this year.
He has already made one highlight-reel grab as a Roughrider, snaring a 41-yarder between two would-be defenders during Friday’s pre-season game against the host B.C. Lions.
Given those talents, the younger Carter does not shy away from comparisons to his dad.
“To tell you the truth, I think I’m better than him, because I’m definitely faster and I’ve got more moves,” Duron says. “He has the one-hand catches down. I don’t really try for them that much because I’m scared to drop it.”
The Riders’ Carter has also mastered the fine art of making two-handed, behind-the-back catches during warmups and practices.
“I learned that from my dad,” he notes. “He used to do that all the time. Coming up in training camp, I’d watch it. I just started practising and now I can get it almost every time.”
Carter spoke with his father earlier this week and received some advice: “Don’t play with as much emotion as you normally do.”
Emotions, as much as they can fuel Carter, can work to his detriment. He was suspended for one game last season for bumping into Ottawa Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell — who crumpled to the turf in a fine display of embellishment — after scoring a touchdown.
Later in the season, Carter clashed with then-Alouettes quarterback Rakeem Cato, as did receiver Kenny Stafford. The Alouettes released Carter and Stafford in mid-October, without explanation.
So now, as coincidence will have it, Carter’s first game with his new team will be in Montreal on Thursday. Another storyline is Darian Durant’s debut as the Alouettes quarterback against the team with which he starred for the better part of a decade.
“I feel like (the schedulers) definitely set it up, with me and Durant and just a lot of emotion going into this first CFL game,” Carter says. “I can’t wait. I’m super-excited.”
Carter expects to engage in some on-field repartee with the Alouettes, and is already pondering what kind of celebration to perform should he score a touchdown. Whatever transpires, he asserts, will be done without any enmity toward the Montreal organization.
“Football is a business and everybody knows that and everybody has been cut here at one point in their life,” he says. “You just have to keep going.
“I’m happy with being a Rider
... I’m really happy with the organization and how they treat me. I just can’t wait to go out and show them what I can do.”
Carter speaks so cheerfully and expansively that, during an interview, it is difficult to process any characterizations of him as a negative influence. There seems to be a disconnect between his off-field affability and his on-field persona.
“When we come on to the football field, I treat it as the coliseum, like I’m a gladiator,” he says. “I have no friendly words out here on the field. As soon as the game’s over, I’m back smiling and everything.
“I think that people just don’t understand the difference between me playing football and me being a regular human being.”
Chris Jones has had regular dealings with Carter since Day 1 of training camp and, all things considered, appreciates what he has brought to the team.
“Duron has done nothing but good things around us,” says Jones, the Roughriders’ head coach, general manager and vicepresident of football operations.
“He hasn’t been perfect.
There’s a couple of conversations that have had to happen, but he’s like everybody else. He has good days and bad days.
“Duron’s a good person and he’s an excellent football player. We just ask him to be Duron. We’re not asking him to be somebody that he’s not, but he’s got to adhere to the rules of our team, just like everybody else.”
As a seasoned CFL defensive co-ordinator, Jones appreciates the fact he no longer has to scheme against Carter. Toward that end, Jones cut off one question in mid-sentence.
“How nice is it not to have to ...” a rumpled interrogator began.
“Double-team him?” Jones replied with a grin. “It’s very nice.
“Last year, he beat our doubleteam one time on a play where he ran a diagonal route across the field. We had two guys on him and he still caught the ball. It’s just one of those deals where he’s an outstanding talent. I just hope that he continues to work and do the things that he has done through camp.”
Carter is confident that Jones will get his wish.
“I definitely think the Roughrider fans will love me throughout the whole season,” he says.
“I’m going to be doing anything I can to get them going in (Mosaic Stadium) and at away games. I’ll be trying my hardest and I think, over time, people will realize that I’m genuine.
“I’m not faking it or being the rah-rah athlete guy or just saying things just for cliches. This is how I really feel.”
I feel like (the schedulers) definitely set it up, with me and Durant and just a lot of emotion going into this first CFL game.