Rod Carter (American Football)
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Roderick Earl Carter (born October 10, 1966) 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 ...
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
. 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 ...
at the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
.


Early life

Carter attended
Fort Lauderdale High School Fort Lauderdale High School is a high school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that serves students in grades 9 through 12. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district. Founded in 1899 as a school for whites, the high s ...
, where he was a starter at
outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...
. He accepted a football scholarship from the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
, where he earned a reputation as one of the hardest hitters on the football team. As a freshman in 1985, he was named the starter at strongside linebacker midway through the season, registering 68 tackles (2 for loss), 2 sacks and one forced fumble. As a sophomore in 1986, was named the starter at
weakside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
, registering 67 tackles (4 for loss) and 2 forced fumbles. As a junior in 1987, he was second on the team with 138 tackles (seventh in school history) and posted 3.5 sacks. He had 19 tackles against the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...
. He was also a part of the school's second national championship. • Second Team All-South Independent 1987. As a senior in 1988, he missed the first 2 games with a hamstring and a left knee injury. He regained full strength until midway through the season, recording 88 tackles (second on the team). He led the team with 11 tackles in the 1989 Orange Bowl. He finished his college career with 361 tackles (third in school history), 19 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 4 passes defensed and 5 forced fumbles.


Professional career

Carter was selected by the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
in the tenth round (252nd overall) of the
1989 NFL draft The 1989 NFL draft (also known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting) was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marquis in Ne ...
. He was released on September 4. In November 1990, he had a try-out with the
World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...
, but he was not signed by any team.


Personal life

In 1990, he was an assistant football coach at
Coconut Creek High School Coconut Creek High School is a high school located in Coconut Creek, Florida, which teaches grades 9–12. Coconut Creek High serves: southern Coconut Creek, and parts of Margate, Florida, Margate, North Lauderdale, and Pompano Beach. The scho ...
. In 1995, he was an assistant football coach at Northeast High School. In 1997, he made national headlines in a case related to
union violence Union violence refers to violence committed by unions or union members to achieve political objectives, particularly during labor disputes. When union violence has occurred, it has frequently been in the context of industrial unrest. Violence has ...
. On August 7, Teamsters Orestes Espinosa, Angel Mielgo, Werner Haechler, Benigno Rojas, and Adrian Paez, beat, kicked and stabbed Carter who was a UPS worker at the time, because he refused to strike. Carter had previously received a threatening phone call from the home of Anthony Cannestro, Sr., president of Teamsters Local 769. The case was settled out of court.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Rod 1966 births Living people American football linebackers Miami Hurricanes football players Union violence High school football coaches in Florida Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Carter, Rod