The dream season

Pat Carter, catching his breath, below, after some running drills last fall.

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY CHRIS ZUPPA OF THE TIMES
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© St. Petersburg Times
published February 9, 2003

For Pat Carter, college stardom and the NFL beckon.

Sometimes, dreams are imagined before they are understood.

Pat Carter remembers when the seed for his dream was planted. He was 5, watching NFL games with his father and three older brothers after Sunday-morning church. Pat was too young to understand professional football or even like it that much. To him, it was too organized. There wasn't much action, so it was difficult to pay attention. At the same time, he thought: "I want to play in the NFL."

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When Carter was a little older and playing for organized teams, he and his brother Tim would practice in the street. The brothers emulated their heroes while they tossed the football. Pat would pretend that his passes had Joe Montana's accuracy, and Tim would pretend that he had Jerry Rice's sure hands.

"Hey, Joe, throw me the ball," Tim would say to Pat.

"Hey, Rice, go deep," Pat would say to Tim.

Years later, Carter, 18, is inside Bobby Dodd Stadium at Georgia Tech. He is walking through a maze of tunnels -- nearly 90 years of athletic tradition -- with a group high school recruits, many from the Tampa Bay area. Pictures and names of legends adorn the walls of the stadium. The name Bobby Dodd alone implies greatness in football.

Carter's name may one day make those walls. As a 6-foot-3, 185-pound quarterback for Lakewood High School, Carter led Pinellas County in passing last season with 1,888 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also rushed for 248 yards and seven touchdowns while leading the Spartans to a district title and a 9-3 record.

Now, Georgia Tech is courting him.

Carter pauses briefly to read some of the names. His expression is serious; he imagines what could be.

The recruits enter a locker room where jerseys hang, neatly pressed in a long row. One shirt hangs near the center of the row, the letters C-A-R-T-E-R printed on it. Carter's seriousness fades into a smile as he runs his fingers up and down it, feeling the fabric, reassuring himself that it is real. He says over and over, in a soft but confident voice, "Man, this is so tight. This is so tight."

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