‘X-Man” runs away from LSU football

By Darrell Laurant  |   Monday, June 26, 2006  |  Comments( 2 )

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Lots of high school football heroes have turned out to be a little bit too slow to make it on the next level.

Xavier Carter might be the first to be too fast.

Just as Carter was getting ready to step up and become a star wide receiver at LSU, he suddenly turned into Jesse Owens. At this year's NCAA track and field championships in Sacramento, Carter matched Owens' record by winning four events -- the 100 meters, the 400, and the 400 and 1,600-meter relays. Moreover, he was the only athlete ever to pull off the 100/400 double.

A few days later, Carter announced he was leaving the LSU Tigers to join the professional track circuit.

"My decision to go pro is a bittersweet one," he said in a press conference. "While I am excited with the prospects of my future endeavors as a professional athlete, the end of my athletic association with LSU also saddens me. I am thrilled to say that I will continue to pursue my academic goals at LSU ... and I will always support LSU and I will always be a Fighting Tiger in spirit and at heart."

Speed kills, they say. In this case, it killed a college football career.

"The sky's the limit for him (Carter)," Tiger wide receivers coach Todd Monken told a Sacramento reporter a few days before the track meet. "He's got the capability of scoring every time he touches it. He's one of those guys, his speed does translate into football."

And at 6-3, 198, so does his body. Buried on the depth chart by a talented group of receivers, Carter caught five passes for 118 yards as a freshman in 2004. Last season, he caught four for 86 yards and a touchdown last season while scoring on a 36-yard reverse.

There was still no guarantee that he would have started this season for Les Miles' Tigers, although he probably would have had a larger role as a return man. Three of LSU's best receivers -- Dwayne Bowe, Early Doucet and Craig Davis -- return this year, while Skyler Green and Bennie Brazell turned pro. It didn't help "X-Man" that he skipped spring football for track, although he did it with his coaches' blessing.

Nevertheless, there was a growing sentiment among those coaches to give Carter more touches in 2006. Now, that's not going to happen.

Carter's football career may not be over, because he could declare for the NFL draft after next year if track doesn't work out. He was, after all, rated as the number one high school receiver in the country coming out of Palm Bay (FL) High in 2003.

But maybe now he'll have time for that other sport he says he enjoys as much as the other two -- fishing.

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