A track record of a program and its position coach often play a vital role in the recruiting process, and that may resonate even more with a specialist such as Carter Brown. Not only was ASU's incoming freshman placekicker fully cognizant of the success that his fellow Texan and former ASU placekicker Zane Gonzalez had in Tempe under the tutelage of Shawn Slocum, but that was also an aspect that served the Sun Devils well as schools tried to pry away one of the best players at his position in the 2022 class.
Carter Brown talks about that topic and many more in our recent interview.
“I was a soccer player before junior high. I started playing football in seventh grade, and I didn’t know too much at the time about football. At that age, that’s the last time you could play non-tackle football, and extra points were worth three points. So I went ahead, and I played on that team, and I also played tight end and defensive end as well, just for fun. In the eighth grade is when I started getting more serious about football and started training and going to some camps.
“It’s not that easy to make the transition from a soccer player to a placekicker. There are definitely some difficulties in there. That’s why I stopped playing soccer so early on in high school because when you swing at a soccer ball and you swing at a football, there are two completely different swings. When you shoot a soccer ball, you’re driving the ball, and your shoulders are over the ball as you’re swinging down at it. Whereas in football, you’re staying upright and swinging up and through the ball to get elevation and drive the ball through the uprights. So there are two completely different swings, but it definitely helps that I was a soccer player because swinging your leg at the ball comes more naturally to you.
“Playing high school in Texas was a great experience. I was blessed playing for my team in high school, and my coaches trusted me a lot my sophomore year (when he was named the starter), which is when I really blew up. There was a lot of pressure playing that level. I broke the school record, actually, in our rivalry game against Pearland, and then I played in front of about 25,000 people. So you definitely feel that atmosphere when you run out there on the field. You’ll hear it from both sides.
“When it comes to colleges recruiting you, it’s for a kicker. It’s very iffy because a lot of schools take only one every four years, and there are not many scholarships used on specialists in general. So it’s a lot different with the process. I knew I could probably play somewhere in college because I was pretty consistent in high school. But all in all, it took a while to really realize it, and it took someone like (ASU’s special teams coach) coach Shawn Slocum to offer me on September 1st of my junior year to make me know that I could do it, and that’s when it came to reality. I didn’t talk to him at all before that offer, but I knew that he had stopped by the school to watch my highlights. The rules were that the coach couldn’t call, but you could call them, and funny enough, that was the one number I could not find to call. Arizona State has always been one of my top schools just because of how successful they are with specialists and how great that area was. When I finally got his number and called him, he told me that he had watched some of my recent film and that’s why he offered me. That offer was completely unexpected, but it was great to have.
“Knowing about (Lou Groza Award winner) Zane Gonzalez, who grew up near me and had all that success at Arizona State, was huge in my recruiting process. I did research my research on how well they (ASU) do with their specialists, and coach Slocum, in my opinion, is the best in the country in what he does in developing kickers, punters, and even long snappers. That was big time for me and really opened my eyes to Arizona State. Seeing not only Zane Gonzalez but also punter Matt Haack play in the NFL now and being successful says a lot. His ability to develop guys and get them to the league got me excited about Arizona State and had me wanting to go there. And then, how well he breaks down film, and how detail-oriented he is, I really liked that. He teaches you that 90 percent of what you need to do comes before you even kick the ball, which is true. That’s what I have been doing this past two years, is really taking that in and being focused on that, which has helped extremely. I had a pretty strong leg my sophomore year. My longest field goal in practice was 60 yards, and my furthest in a game was 49 yards. But what I’ve really developed over the years is being able to put my kickoffs in the endzone and then as well just consistently making those further kicks past 40 yards.
“Honestly, when that (NCAA investigation) first came out, it was kind of tough, just not knowing really what happened. But after having discussions with coach Slocum, who I have full trust in and really believe in it sounded like everyone I was really in contact with at the school was still going to be there. So, my thing was, as long as coach Slocum was there, that was OK because I really trust him and believe in him. Yeah, at times schools used it as negative recruiting, and I just let that go in one ear out the other and focus and trust what coach Slocum was telling me. It was definitely a turnoff to hear that negative recruiting against because my thing was, if you’re going to speak negatively about Arizona State, then you’re afraid of what they have to offer. I think it is a mistake to do.
“Even after I committed, there were still schools trying to get me to come up and see them, and I had some good relationships with some other college coaches. But at the end of the day, when I committed that I was going to be a Sun Devil, that was it. I didn’t really talk to many coaches at all, but there were still some at times that would text me or DM me and say, ‘Come to our camp’ or whatever. But at the end of the day, I wanted to be a Sun Devil.
“I haven’t talked as much to (head coach) Herm Edwards as I have to coach Slocum, but from what I know, they are both really close; he really trusted coach Slocum who did most of my recruiting. Having the experience that coach Edwards has, being that he is a great guy too, and having his experience coaching in the league was huge. And pretty much almost everyone on our staff has had something to do with the NFL. I like how he runs the program and how he treats us like pros and not like kids who came out of high school kids. Because he treats us that way, he expects the same out of us, and I really like that.
“My high school is one of the top academic schools in the state, and it’s hard to graduate early. I graduated with a 3.5 GPA, and I’m nowhere near the top of my school. I thought about it (graduating early) when it was too late, to be honest. To get all those classes in would have been a lot on me as well. As a specialist too, I don’t think it’s as big of a deal as other positions because there are not as many plays and formations that you need to know. But yeah, graduating early crossed my mind, but it was just too much to do in one year.
“I know there’s the expectation that I will be the starter, with all the work I put in and the coaches knowing what I do I possibly could do. Really all I’m focused on is trying to earn that starting spot and then, from there, helping my team to win games and doing what I can for my team. I would like to both kick field goals and do kickoffs. But as a freshman doing both, it can be difficult on your body if you can’t get used to that. I’m going to trust the guidance coach Slocum gives me through that, and for sure, I’m gonna try and compete and earn the starting spot for both.
“Coming in, I know I’m basically starting all over again, and I have to earn everything all over again, earn my trust from my teammates and coaches again. So my mental approach is taking it day by day and just doing everything I can to be the best I can and realizing what I can control in order to earn that starting spot. I’m coming in trying to make all my field goals, put kickoffs in the endzone, and being supportive and good teammate as well as keeping my academics in line, so that’s not a worry as well.”
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