They might not meet head on in the hole but they are sure to meet up after the action is over. When Des Carter and Ja’Won Arrington see each other at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota on Saturday afternoon, the paths of two players with a shared experience will cross once again, this time a world away from Birmingham, Alabama.
“He don’t really play that much but it’s going to be a great feeling getting to see him after the game,” said Carter, a senior safety at Montana State as the Bobcats play North Dakota. “Ja’Won was my boy. Before practice, after practice, we’d go right to his locker and be kicking it with him always. He was one of my best friends at UAB.”
MSU safety Desman Carter gives a pre-snap call vs. Fort Lewis
UAB is Alabama-Birmingham, a former FBS program in Conference USA that abruptly cut football following a bowl campaign last season. The extermination of a program left a slew of players essentially as free agents. Arrington, a senior running back at North Dakota, landed in Grand Forks while Carter landed in Bozeman. Arrington has battled injury while appearing in just two games, while Carter has started all seven.
Carter and Arrington were together at UAB for a brief time. Arrington began his career at Alabama A&M before transferring back to his hometown for the 2013 and 2014 seasons at UAB. Carter began his career at Nevada before making a stop at Riverside (California) College. Last year was his first at UAB; he started the second half of last season at safety for the Blazers.
Although many of the Blazers had not been at UAB for a great deal of time, Carter said the decision the get rid of the football program cut deeply among the players, especially those with remaining eligibility. A total of 55 Blazers transferred to new Division I schools, including 14 that went to the FCS. Carter and Arrington are the only players who landed in the Big Sky.
“You don’t forget but you just move on,” Carter said following Tuesday’s practice as he stood on the Bobcat Stadium turf. “I wanted a chance to get another opportunity to continue to play football at another school. I wanted to finish.”
Carter was closing in on his degree in sociology at UAB but he had one more fall of eligibility left. Carter knew if he transferred for a third time, he would have to deal with the headache of carrying over his credits and he would extend his time as a student beyond his time remaining as an athlete. Carter took recruiting visits to FCS Central Arkansas and Montana State and had another scheduled to UND.
MSU safety Desman Carter stanced pre-snap vs. Cal Poly
While Carter weighed his options for his fifth and final season, he strategized ways to face the harsh financial reality of his fourth move since graduating high school in 2010. The Pomona, California native played prep football for MSU sophomore linebacker Blake Braun’s grandfather at Kaiser High School. After three all-conference campaigns, he signed with Nevada.
He spent a year in Reno before moving to Riverside. In 2014, he decided Conference USA was the place he wanted to finish his career and he signed with UAB. His mother, Denise Johnson, and his longtime girlfriend Iceis Triplett helped Carter pay for his move from California to Birmingham. He knew he would have to figure out a way to pay for a move again, whether to Conway, Arkansas or Grand Forks or Bozeman.
“Pretty much coming up with the money to travel and move is the hardest thing,” Carter said. “Me and my lady had to save up the money to be able to drive out here to Montana.
“My lady, she’s the greatest. I’ve put her through a whole lot of stuff and she’s still here.”
Carter played at Nevada for a season, redshirting and getting to know Anthony Knight, Tanner Roderick and Bryson Keeton. Keeton is a senior cornerback for the Bobcats and Roderick is a senior wide receiver. Knight, who scored 12 touchdowns last season, was dismissed from the team in the off-season. When Carter fell out of favor in Reno, he ended up at Riverside Community College like Knight.
MSU safety Desman Carter pumps up the crowd vs. Sac State
The news of UAB cutting football resonated throughout college football. Montana State knew it was in the market for transfers at all three levels of its defense. Montana State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Jamie Marshall took a hard look at the UAB roster.
“The way I went about it, I just looked at their roster and where everybody was from,” Marshall said. “I didn’t think we have a good chance with a guy from Alabama, Florida, East Coast. It wouldn’t make sense to come up to Montana. I looked for more West Coast connections with the California guys on our team. Des fit the bill. It was a good fit.”
Carter joined the Bobcats in January and participated in spring drills. He earned a leg up at Montana State’s strong safety position during spring and solidified the starting spot during fall camp.
“He came in January, never said a word, didn’t try to be a big-time guy coming in from an FBS program,” Montana State head coach Rob Ash said. “He just got to work. He assimilated himself well with the rest of the team because he has had to do that a few times at Nevada, at Riverside, at UAB.
“I think the fact that he’s older, more mature, wiser and very calm in demeanor, a lot of that comes from the fact that he’s had a lot of life experiences. He’s not a real high-low type of guy. He’s very consistent and that’s also a fact in his background where he’s had to deal with all these things.”
MSU safety Desman Carter breaks ups a pass vs. Portland State
Carter has shown versatility. He has played both safety spots as well as nickel back for a young Montana State defense that continues to struggle. Carter is fifth on the team with 27 tackles. He forced a fumble against Fort Lewis and broke up a pass against Portland State.
The Bobcats in large have taken their lumps. MSU is giving up 261 rushing yards and 471.3 total yards per game, including 296 yards rushing, 496 yards of total offense and 37.5 points per game during conference play. The sum result is Montana State is fighting for its playoff lives in Grand Forks on Saturday.
“The level of competition isn’t FBS competition but it’s good competition,” Carter said. “This year has been… interesting. We are learning things on the fly, trying to get things right on the fly as we go week by week. That’s the only thing you can do. We are progressing every week and we are going to get to that point soon where we are going to be solid.”
Carter is in a position group otherwise filled with youth. Sophomore Khari Garcia and redshirt freshman DeMonte King have rotated at the spot next to Carter for the first half of the season. Sophomore Bryson McCabe returned last week in MSU’s 63-7 non-conference win over East Tennessee State from a knee injury that cost him five games. The soft-spoken Carter has played in a variety of systems. He’s been careful in providing advice for his younger teammates.
MSU safety Desman Carter pre-snap signals vs. Eastern Washington
“He’s not super vocal,” Marshall said. “For the most part, he’s a guy who just goes to practice, works hard in individual drills. His leadership is more one-on-one away from the group talking to different guys. He talks to Khari a lot, tries to get him squared away.”
Football has led Carter across the country and back. He’s made friends at each one of his stops and Triplett has been the one constant by his side. Carter will graduate from Montana State in the fall of 2016 with his sociology degree. Like most college football players, he hopes to keep playing for as long as he can. But his journey to this point has also taught him there is more to life.
“That’s the goal, that’s the dream but as I get older, I really don’t know what I’m going to do at this point,” Carter said. “I still love it. The passion is always there for the game. Just the life lessons football teaching you, being able to come out here and have no worries and just being out here and being able to do what God gave you the ability to be able to do.”
As Carter stood on the turf of his current home, he was asked what he will remember most about his time at Montana State. He paused and looked around the stadium, engulfed in thought.
“That’s a really good question. I don’t even know to be honest,” Carter said. “A lot of it that I will probably remember hasn’t even happened yet.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
