CB - Xavier Carroll

[CattouseFan]

If athlete Xavier Carroll has his wishes there will be another small-school success story similar to Courtney Taylor in the SEC down the road. A standout at quarterback and defensive back for the Eagles, the 5-9, 170 Carroll is an explosive player that could see his stock rise dramatically after he makes the summer camp circuit beginning in May.
An All-State performer in both football and basketball in Class 1A, Alabama’s smallest classification, Carroll has been a starter since the eighth grade for the Eagles. At that time he only played defense, but he moved to quarterback as a ninth grader and has been there ever since. Last season he rushed for over 1,700 yards as the Eagles’ main offensive weapon, his second-straight season over 1,000 yards, and also intercepted five passes on defense. That season caught the eye of schools across the country and the letters have been pouring in since that time.

“I’m getting a lot of letters right now,” Carroll tells Inside The Auburn Tigers. “I’m getting them from Auburn, Alabama, UCLA, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Kentucky, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Louisville and some others. My only offer is from Troy right now.”

It was easy for the Trojans to get the first shot in recruiting Carroll because they got a chance to see him up close and personal just two years ago while they were recruiting his older brother Rhod. Redshirted last year for the Trojans, Rhod is expected to become a contributor this fall for the Troy squad. Even with that there is one school that Carroll says he’s always been a fan of.

“I grew up an Auburn fan,” Carroll says. “I’ve just always liked them the most.”

Carroll says he plans to camp at Auburn, Alabama and Troy this summer in the hopes of showing the coaches that he’s good enough to play in the SEC. If his skills in Alabama’s Junior All-Star game last winter in Troy are any indication then he’s in pretty good shape. One of the top performers in the game, Carroll got a chance to prove himself against players from bigger schools around the state and more than held his own.

Being recruited by most schools as an athlete that could play a number of different positions, Carroll, who ran a 4.5 second 40-yard dash in Troy, seems to be a perfect fit at cornerback and says that’s his preferred position in college. “My best position would be at cornerback,” Carroll says. “I can defend pretty good. I would also do pretty good at receiver though.”

Xavier is also a standout on the basketball court for Autaugaville. Last season he led the Eagles to the Final Four in Birmingham as he averaged 18.5 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and five steals per game for the season. He was named the most valuable player in the county, area and the Southeast Regional tournaments along the way. He was also named to the All-Tournament team in Birmingham.

Player Profile Link
http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=363&p=8&c=1&nid=1849923

[CattouseFan]

AUTAUGAVILLE -- Xavier Carroll had been here before.

Last year, in fact, when his 94-yard scramble for a touchdown late in the first half swung the momentum away from Billingsley in the 2004 season opener.

On Friday night, he was there again. Facing second-and-five from the Billingsley 25, he ran a quarterback sneak up the middle for a touchdown that turned a precarious one-point lead into a 34-6 Autaugaville rout in the season opener for both teams.

"It means a lot," the senior said of the Eagles' fourth consecutive win over the Bears, "because all during the week that's all they were talking about, how they were going to stomp us. We did some jawing back, then we told them the best man would win on Friday."

The Bears spotted Autaugaville an early lead by mishandling the ball, then fought back with the running of senior quarterback Terrell Bailey. Bailey, who carried on five of the nine plays that covered 69 yards, went the final 10 yards to trim the lead to 7-6 with 2:35 remaining in the second quarter.

Just as quickly, the ninth-ranked Eagles answered. J.J. Motley, who finished with 165 yards on just six carries, sprinted 34 yards on the next play from scrimmage to move the ball to the Billingsley 44-yard line. The Bears were penalized 15 yards for having 12 men on the field on the next play before Carroll carried to the Bears 25.

Billingsley coach James Carter then called a timeout to align his defense to prevent Motley from going wide and used the linebackers to fill the gaps in the middle in case Carroll carried on a quarterback sneak. The plan may have been excellent. The execution wasn't.

Carroll pulled away from a would-be tackler at the line of scrimmage and swung the momentum back to the Eagles.

"One of them had his hands around him and just didn't lock up," Carter said. "It was a broken play on our part. He's a playmaker. He made the plays when he needed to and we didn't."

Brian Motley added the second of four extra points for a 14-6 halftime lead. Motley, who committed earlier this summer to play at Alabama, finished with 16 tackles, four behind the line of scrimmage, to lead the Autaugaville defense.

"We sucked it up and the line made their blocks," said Brian Motley, a 6-foot-2, 270-pound tackle on both sides of the ball. "We've got the athletes in the backfield, all we have to do is give them a crease and it's a touchdown."

Carroll, who had 118 yards on 11 carries, added another touchdown on a 60-yard run three plays into the second half to finish off the Bears.

Bailey, who had 75 yards on 22 carries and added another 44 yards on a pair of kickoff returns, attempted to rally his team with a drive but suffered an injured right knee on a tackle by J.J. Motley after he carried 15 yards to the Autaugaville 5-yard line.

"That was big," Autaugaville coach Trey Baggett said. "If we had a Xavier Carroll or a J.J. Motley go down, we're in the same situation. I hated to see it for them because the kid was having a great game."

Freshman Matt Paulene entered the game in relief of Bailey and fumbled the next two snaps from center, killing the momentum. The Bears were charged with nine fumbles, two coming on snaps over Bailey's head in shotgun formation that resulted in 45 yards in losses.

"It was just a moral letdown to the whole team because they know how valuable he is," Carter said. "The young guy was just scared to death."

Paulene's fourth-down pass to Marc Manning came up two yards short of the goal and Autaugaville went 98 yards in four plays, using runs of 18 and 80 yards by Motley, the latter giving the Eagles a 27-6 lead.

"The team died," Brian Motley said of Billingsley's reaction to Bailey's injury. "It's like they didn't have any other players. They were like a one-man team. Once he went down, they were finished."

Before Bailey's injury, Billingsley had a slight edge in first downs and time of possession. After the injury, Autaugaville rolled up 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 plays. Billingsley managed 53 total yards on 13 plays -- including a 56-yard run by fullback Detrick Kent -- and fumbled the ball six times.

Baggett credited defensive coordinator Riley White's unit for "keeping them out of the end zone long enough for us to get things rolling offensively."

Motley added another touchdown on a 9-yard carry later in the quarter. After the touchdown, the lights went out on the east side of the stadium and the two teams played the final 2:13 in semi-darkness and without a scoreboard.

Autaugaville travels to Maplesville next week for its region opener. Billingsley plays host to R.C. Hatch in a game originally scheduled for Uniontown that was moved to Billingsley because the R.C. Hatch football field is under construction.

[CattouseFan]

Dallas County came into Thursday's season finale against Autaugaville with nothing to lose.

For the first 24:00 of the game, they played like that. The Hornets shut down the unbeaten Eagle offense, stopping their patented veer-option and holding Division I-A prospects Xavier Carroll and J.T. Motley to only minimal gains.

Then they had to play the second half. Motley led the Eagles up and down the field, amassing over 100-yards rushing in the third quarter alone, en route to Autaugaville's 21-6 victory over the Hornets.


Dallas County and Autaugaville battled back and forth in the first quarter with neither team able to gain an advantage. The struggle carried over into the second frame.

With 9:00 left in the half, DCHS held Autaugaville to a fourth and long. The snap floated back to AHS punter Dwight Jordan, who bobbled it and was tackled by a host of green-topped defenders.

Two plays later, Derrick McGhee, senior quarterback for DCHS, rolled out of the pocket and connected with Eric Ross, senior wide out in the corner of the end zone for the score. The point after was blocked by a host of Eagles.

AHS threatened near the end of the second quarter, but elected to let time run out to go to the intermission.

“From watching them on field, we knew they were big and they were fast,” said Eric Hiott, coach of the Hornets. “But we've faced that all year, teams have been bigger than us.”

The second half, was a complete role reversal of the first.

The Eagles came out on fire, scoring on their first possession, while the Hornets came out flat and at some times emotionless.

“That's why it's so hard to go undefeated in high school football,” said Parker Bagget, coach of the Eagles. “I told the guys when they got off the bus that I didn't think we were ready to play. I had a couple of seniors step up at the half and we came out played our style of football.”

Motley had runs of 24-yards and two-yards before breaking through the Hornet defense for a 33-yard run into the end zone. The point after attempt rolled off the foot of the kicker no good, tying the game at 6-6 with 10:42 in the third.

DCHS turned the ball over on their next two possessions with a fumble and an interception.

Carroll and Motley were able to get the option working, moving the ball from the 10-yardline, to midfield and then to the DCHS 27. On first and 10 from the 27, Carroll handed the ball off to Vincent Tyus. The sophomore tailback navigated through the Hornet defense en route to a touchdown. Carroll took the snap on the two-point and plunged into the end zone for the two-point conversion, moving the score to 14-6 with 1:42 left in the third quarter.

“We worked all week on stopping the veer-option from the splitbacks,” said Hiott. “Like they said in Remember the Titans, ‘We run the veer option, it's like novacaine - just give it time and it works. And it did, then we started getting whipped off tackle.”

The Eagles added a final touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Carroll faked the handoff to Motley at the DCHS 4-yard line before turning upfield and into the end zone. Carroll added the point after, to bring the game to its final tally of 21-6.

The night was also a very emotional night for the DCHS seniors and for first year coach Eric Hiott, who resigned his position at the helm of the Hornet program earlier in the day.

[CattouseFan]

For Autaugaville,
Xavier Carroll is a 5-9, 170 pound, quick-as-a-hiccup quarterback, safety and kick returner. Troy and Southern Miss are battling for his services. He's fun to watch, but I guess not as dominating as I had thought reading his clippings. On this night Carroll had two nice interception returns trimmed by penalties, and rushed the ball 11 times for 52 net yards including a four-yard TD and 2-point conversion. He completed a pair of passes for 16 more, and may have attempted one more. The Eagles don't put it up much; they don't need to.

[CattouseFan]

AUTAUGAVILLE -- Xavier Carroll might not be considered an icon among high school football players in Alabama.

He plays for one of the smallest high schools in the state -- Autaugaville -- but is one of the school's most experienced players.

The senior quarterback began play in his fifth postseason Friday, leading the undefeated Eagles into the first round of the Class 1A playoffs against Linden, a school located about 100 miles to the west in the central portion of the state.

"Xavier has played for me every year I've coached," Autaugaville coach Trey Baggett said. "He started for me as an eighth-grader. He was a ninth-grader at quarterback the year we went to Birmingham (for the Class 1A state championship). He's been around."

Although Carroll has been named to all-state teams in both football and basketball, he still is "Xa" (pronounced ZAY) to his teammates and friends at school. Well respected by his teachers, Carroll handles his daily responsibilities better than most, even though they change during football season.

Each day is its own, and Friday -- game day -- is hectic from daybreak to the final snap of the football game.

Class, practice and other extracurricular activities keep football players like Carroll busy all week, even busier on Fridays. They go to class and try not to think too much about the night's game.

The day still begins near dawn ...
5:45 a.m.

This school day begins earlier than most. On non-game days, Carroll gets up at 6:15. But on this day, he wants to make sure he has all of his belongings with him.

The night before, he brought home his football equipment, everything from his helmet to his girdle pads.

If he played for a larger school, his gear might be cleaned for him. But this is Class 1A football, where only the jerseys see the athletic department washing machines.

The night before a game, Carroll washes his gear, including the inside of his helmet.

6:35 a.m.

Instead of his normal game day breakfast of a bacon-egg-and-cheese biscuit from a local food mart, Carroll cooks for himself. Today's menu consists of eggs, rice and bacon.

Why cook today?

"I felt like it," he says.

It also might have been for luck. Carroll says the last time he cooked breakfast was three weeks ago. On that day, Autaugaville beat Verbena 24-13.
7:05 a.m.

Time to get on the bus. On game day, Carroll usually leaves his car in the driveway (or with his sister, as was the case Friday). It's about a 30-minute ride to school, which affords plenty of time to catch up on gossip.

Carroll and teammate Jerrod Motley talk about the night's game against Linden, although most of the discussion is about the excitement of being in the playoffs.

"We don't talk much about plays," Carroll says. "He was telling me how pumped up he was."

Motley admitted he has a hard time keeping an even keel on game day.

"I think about the game all day," he says. "We just talk about things to keep a level head."

Later, the talk between Carroll and Devin Tyus turns to girls.

"It wasn't much of a conversation," says Carroll, shying away from details.

The bus arrives at school at 7:40 a.m.

Carroll goes directly to the field house, which is actually an appendage of the school building. After putting his equipment into his football locker, he sits and waits for the first bell to ring.

Other teammates join him. The subject of the night's game doesn't come up.

"We don't like talking about the game until fourth block," Carroll says. "If we start talking about it, we might get too fired up too soon."
8 a.m.

Carroll's first part of the day is spent with the second grade. As a teacher's aide, he helps give tests. It's Friday, so it must be time for a spelling quiz.

"I go over the test with them," Carroll says. "We also do reading."

His young friends also ask how many touchdowns he will score.

"It's a lot like I was when I was young," he says. "(Former Autaugaville star) Jermaine Douglas was my hero, I guess. And my brother, Radondo. I was in the sixth grade when he was a senior."
11:45 a.m.

After spending a few minutes in his economics class, Carroll is off to the cafeteria, where he is ambushed by a few female friends.

JoAnna Mims, Stacy Hardy and Nicole Brown all have something to say about "Xa." A small part of the discussion is about football. Very small.

"First, he talks too much," Mims says. "Anything that comes in his mind, he says it. He likes to say he'll bet 5 with you. It's not really a bet, but he's right about 25 percent of the time."

Hardy says her mother is a big fan of Carroll's. Brown says not to ask him about dating.

"You can't believe anything they say," Carroll says, smiling. "They are just talking."

Even though it's lunch time, Carroll isn't interested in eating. His meal consists of an ice cream bar and salad. And he doesn't eat much of the salad:

"I'm saving room for the pregame meal."

A few hours before kickoff, the Eagles will be treated to chicken, steak tips and potatoes. School booster Rod DeBardelaben, a local chef, provides the food.

"The program was financially strapped so he helps out," said assistant coach Kyle Palmer. "It's good, real good."
12:15 p.m.

Back to economics class, where Palmer is now Carroll's teacher. The class has what Palmer calls "critical thinking skills assessment" -- aka "busy work."

Still no thoughts on the game, Carroll says.
1:45 p.m.

It's TV time.

Fourth block is athletics period for Carroll and the football team. On game day, the players get to watch film, but not necessarily to scout the opposition.

"All of the players come to the field house to watch tapes of shows of 'Friday Night Fever' and ESPN's 'College GameDay,'" defensive coordinator Riley White said.

"I think it helps them focus on football. I may be kidding myself, but I think it helps."

Carroll spends the film time cutting the hair of teammate Terry Parker.

"He needed a haircut," Carroll explains. "I also cut hair for friends and family."
2:30 p.m.

Although no official announcement is made, the planned pep rally for the first-round playoff game is canceled.

Carroll is somewhat disappointed but said he understands.

"There is a good reason for it," he says. "The last pep rally there was a fight. Some of our students were suspended."

It's almost time to concentrate on the game plan. As he watches a few plays from the last game, he studies his own team.

"I spend a lot of time thinking about plays, watching their film. This is when I begin to put my game face on," he says. "We start getting serious."

For Coach Baggett, the game has even more significance. Five years ago, he was named the school's head football coach, replacing Kyle Glover. His first team included an eighth-grader at quarterback -- "Xa" Carroll.

"This senior class is special," Baggett said. "Most of the others played for me in my second year (when they were) ninth-graders. I asked them not to cheat me.

"I hate to see this bunch go."

As time ticks closer to kickoff, Carroll begins the ritual of dressing for the game. He spends
most of the time cutting up with his teammates. Anxiety doesn't seem to be a problem.

He has both ankles taped.

He says he's ready.
5:45 p.m.

Autaugaville takes the field for warm-up exercises. Although he's not extremely vocal, Carroll gives encouragement to his teammates, moreso than normal.
6:25 p.m.

Carroll and the Eagles return from pregame workouts. He says he feels good about their chances.

"We had a good pregame," he says.

Carroll refuses to look on the other side at Linden.

"Why would I?" he says. "There's nothing to see."

Carroll walks back to the locker room with two sports drinks in hand.

It's time to get hydrated.
7 p.m.

Kickoff.

It is the beginning of the end of Carroll's high school football career. Linden takes a 22-8 lead at halftime.

Surprisingly, Carroll is a non-factor with just 6 yards passing and 32 yards in returns. The Eagles give up a fake punt for a touchdown.

The second half isn't much better. After a scoreless third quarter, Linden adds to its lead before Autaugaville can score again.

The final score? Linden 28, Autaugaville 16.

Carroll finishes with 70 yards passing. He was limited to minus-11 yards rushing.

The Eagles end their season at 10-1.

The long day ends without a victory; Carroll's long season without a state championship.

But basketball season is about to begin.