Spring Break
The Daily OrangeHis other half
Former teammates Delone Carter and Tyrell Sutton will be on opposite sidelines Saturday
By Andy McCullough
Posted: 8/26/08, 10:55 PM EST Section: Sports
|
Delone Carter? "Oh, that's like my little brother," said Northwestern senior running back Tyrell Sutton
Tyrell Sutton? "Tyrell's like my brother," said Syracuse sophomore running back Delone Carter.
Family comes easy for Carter and Sutton. So does symmetry. They've spent enough time together - and have enough in common - for both. Both grew up in Akron, Ohio. Both look similar (5-foot-10, 214 pounds for Carter; 5-foot 9, 205 pounds for Sutton) and run similar. Both struggled with injuries last year.
And they have the same high school hardware: Sutton won Ohio's Mr. Football in 2004. Carter won it the next year.
"I always told him that, you know, you can tell me about anything," Sutton said. "Because anything that you've done, I've already done it."
They played together for two years at Archbishop Hoban High School before Carter transferred to nearby Copley High School. They'll be together again Saturday as the Orange open its season on the road against the Wildcats at 12 p.m. It will be the first time they've shared the field since Carter transferred.
They've stayed close since then. So close that when asked about each other, the first sentence is basically the same. The second isn't far off.
"We stay in contact all the time," Sutton said.
"Any time we're home, we're together," Carter said.
Of course, it wasn't always like that. Six years ago, Sutton was a high school sophomore, fresh off a sterling year as Hoban's starting varsity tailback. But the freshman players kept talking about this other kid, Delone, the freshman who was going to steal his job. Carter never said much to Sutton about it - one difference: Carter's quiet, Sutton isn't - but the freshman kept chirping.
"That didn't bother me too much, but at the same time it did," Sutton said. "I wanted to make sure (Carter) knew what he was getting himself into."
He found out soon.
The season came and as Sutton figured, he still starred as the tailback. His freshman counterpart didn't make the splash that his teammates predicted, but he worked his way onto the varsity squad by the end of the season. By that time, the sophomore had embraced the freshman. They ran together. They lifted together, pushed each other. Their work ethic was similar - and so were their running skills.
Carter started at cornerback and returned kicks as a sophomore. He got a few carries, but the offense still focused on Sutton.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Former Hoban teammate of Carter
posted 10/10/08 @ 2:53 PM EST
There was a issue with a individual saying racist comments to Carter, and Carter kicked the crap out of him. I am a white person, and the fooball team always respected him and had his back. (Continued…)
Post a Comment