Ahmad Raheem Carroll (born August 4, 1983) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

and was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the first round of the

2004 NFL draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held from April 24–25, 2004, at the Theate ...

. Carroll was also a member of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

, Hartford Colonials,

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The t ...

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

Early life

Ahmad Carroll was born August 4, 1983, to Artie and Carrolyn Carroll in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia. In his earlier years, Ahmad ran track for the D.C. Motion Track Club and also played Pop Warner football. During his years playing Pop Warner football, he earned the nickname "Batman" after repeatedly jumping over an offensive lineman. He later attended Frederick Douglass High School in Atlanta where he was an All-Area cornerback, as well as tailback. Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report rated Ahmad as the nation's No. 26 overall player, while Super Prep rated him as the second-best among all the nation's defensive backs. He was rated the best defensive back in the nation by Prep Star, while Rivals100.com called him the second-best cornerback in the nation. Blue Chip Illustrated rated Ahmad the second-best cornerback in the nation and the fourth-best overall player in Georgia. He was an ESPN/Reebok All-American selection as he recorded 70 tackles as a senior. He chose to accept a scholarship to the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

College career

Carroll excelled in two sports at the

as both a sprinter for the track team and a cornerback for the football team. He finished his college football career with the following statistics: *140 tackles (7 for losses) *25 passes defensed *4

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s *2

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

recoveries *2 forced fumbles *12

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

hurries

Track

High school

While at Frederick Douglass High School, Carroll ran

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

for the D.C. Motion Track Club. He set a state record in the 100m dash (10.41 seconds) and finished second in the 200-meter dash (21.24 seconds). He was also the national AAU champion in the 100m dash (10.38 seconds) and was selected to Georgia's Magnificent Seven list.

College

As an

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

collegiate, he competed on the Razorbacks' track team for two seasons. He earned a pair of All-American honors in the 100m and 200 meters at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

2002

In 2002, during the indoor season, Carroll competed in the 60-meter dash and set a new UA record with a provisional qualifying time of 6.69 seconds to win the event at the OU Sooner Invitational. He finished 11th (6.77s) at the SEC Indoor Championships. He also competed in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

during the outdoor season. He earned a provisional qualifying time of 10.34 seconds at the SEC Quad and finished third. At the SEC Outdoor Championships, Carroll ran a time of 10.50 seconds in the prelims and just missed advancing to the finals.

2003

In 2003, Carroll competed in the 60-meter dash during the indoor season. At the Tyson Invitational, he broke his own school record with a time of 6.67 seconds. He finished eighth in the event at the SEC Championships. At the NCAA Championships, he ran a time of 6.73 in the prelims, but was unable to advance to the finals. He ran in the

100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standard SI prefix for a hundred is " hecto-". 100 is the b ...

and 200-meter dashes during the outdoor season. He came in fourth (10.34s) in the 100 and third (20.94s) in the 200-meter dash at the SEC Championships. At the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships he registered a career-best time of 10.28 seconds in the prelims of the 100m and in the finals he crossed the line in seventh (10.33s). He went on to finish third (20.89s) in the 200-meter dash to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. He competed in a total of six races in four days at the NCAA Championships and became the first football letterman since

Clyde Scott Clyde Luther Scott (August 29, 1924 – January 30, 2018) was an American athlete who played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) and earned an Olympic medal in the 110 meter hurdles. He was born in Dixie, Louisiana. B ...

in 1948 to score points in an NCAA outdoor meet. He posted a seventh-place finish (10.46s) in the 100m and was the first Razorback athlete to score points in the 100-meter dash and only the second Razorback athlete to earn All-America honors in the event. He earned his second All-America honor for the weekend when he finished eighth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.48 seconds. He was the first Arkansas athlete to earn the honor in both the 100m and 200-meter dashes and was the only sprinter for the week to score points in both events.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Carroll was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round (25th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft. He was the target by many quarterbacks due to his tendency toward illegal contact penalties. Penalties finally got the best of him when in Week 4 of the 2006 season against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Carroll was burned for two costly touchdowns by Greg Lewis and had three penalties. He was cut soon after.

Jacksonville Jaguars

In October 2006, Carroll was signed by the

. He was waived by the Jaguars on May 7, 2007, following an arrest.

Orlando Predators

Carroll played for the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

in 2008.

New York Jets

Following the 2008 AFL season, Carroll was signed by the

. He tried out for the team in 2007 but did not sign a contract. He was re-signed by the team on March 16, 2009. Carroll was waived by the New York Jets on November 16, 2009.

Toronto Argonauts

On May 10, 2012, Carroll was signed by the

. On June 30, 2012, Carroll played in his first CFL game against the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. Midway through the third quarter, Carroll was flagged for defensive pass interference on a deep attempt by Eskimo quarterback Steven Jyles to receiver

Fred Stamps Fred Stamps (born December 10, 1980) is an American former professional football slotback in the Canadian Football League (CFL) who last played for the Montreal Alouettes. But signed a 1 day contract to officially retire as part of the Edmonton ...

. The penalty led to an Edmonton field goal, and Toronto went on to lose the game 19–15. Carroll announced his retirement after winning the Grey Cup in 2012.

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bioJacksonville Jaguars bioNew York Jets bioOrlando Predators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Ahmad 1983 births Players of Canadian football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football cornerbacks Arizona Rattlers players Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes Arkansas Razorbacks football players Canadian football defensive backs Green Bay Packers players Hartford Colonials players Jacksonville Jaguars players Living people New York Jets players Orlando Predators players Players of American football from Atlanta Toronto Argonauts players Virginia Destroyers players Calgary Stampeders players