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Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Senior Feature: All-Ivy WR Stephen Carlson
September 19, 2018 | Football
(the following is taken from the Sept. 22 edition of the Princeton Athletic News gameday program)
It's never a surprise to Stephen Carlson that people from his small hometown of Jamestown, N.Y., still care about him, still want to know how he's doing. It's the Jamestown way, a way that played a role in his decision to play football at Princeton.
But even Carlson admits that home visits recently were a bit out of the ordinary.
"It was pretty crazy," he said. "Even some people I didn't know very well were telling me how great it was to see me on TV. It's pretty cool to have that city to go back to, and that people are still keeping track of me."
That's one thing Jamestown will have in common with a number of undersized defensive backs over the next nine weeks — they'll all need to keep track of Steve Carlson.
If Carlson stood out prior to the 2017 Princeton opener, it was only because guys that are 6-5, 225 pounds and clad in all orange tend to draw attention. Statistically, he wasn't far ahead of the 10,000+ fans in attendance that day; he had caught all of two passes in his collegiate career as he played behind a deep group of upperclassmen that had helped Princeton win the 2016 Ivy League title.
But he believed this was his time.
"That summer, being around the quarterbacks, being around the strength coaches, seeing the gains I was making, I had a feeling that, through the work I put in, that season I could really contribute to the offense," he said. "I don't know if I exactly saw the huge jump I was going to make. I was just going out there and do what I needed to do. I was really confident with the playbook, really confident in the quarterbacks. I knew if I got open, they would get me the ball."
The first ball Chad Kanoff, now a member of the Arizona Cardinals practice squad, sent to Carlson ended as a nine-yard touchdown. The second one, a 14-yard touchdown. By the end of the 27-17 home win, the previously unknown wideout had caught six passes for 94 yards and three touchdowns.
"I don't think I ever had a three-touchdown game," he said with a laugh. "None that I can remember, and certainly none as meaningful as that."
He was unknown no more, at least not in the Ivy League.
He was never an unknown in Jamestown, though.
He grew up in New York, but not the New York you think of first. His is a town far south and west within the state of New York, about a seven-hour drive from New York City; that's twice as far away as the distance between NYC and Washington, D.C., so that part of his home state is as foreign to him as any common tourist who visits the Big Apple once a year.
His hometown population may match that of a busy day at Times Square, but it's the connection between those people that helped shape Carlson.
"It's a small town where everybody knows who you are," he said. "There's one public high school. The town knows about athletics, and they support athletics. That really helped me. I had a good family background, and I had a good city background that I could lean on.
"You meet people who are really invested in you," he added. "There's no real reason that they need to be invested in you, but they love people who are going to work hard and put their best effort forth all the time. My high school coaches still have my back. When I come back to church now, people still line up to ask me how I'm doing. It helps you grow up to somebody I strive to be — a respectable, nice kid."
There was no way this Johnstown kid was going to enroll at a school the same size, or even bigger, than his hometown. It was a major factor in Carlson's decision to attend Princeton, and the similarities between his two homes has been striking.
"I couldn't see myself going to a 30,000-kid school, where you're a nobody," he said. "This is more than I could ask for. It's like Jamestown, in that people are invested in you here. There's no need for the dining hall service people to be invested in you and ask how you are, but that's what they do here. It's awesome."
An all-state football player who also led Jamestown to the New York state title game in basketball, Carlson had to accept an unfamiliar spot on the sideline over the first two seasons while he developed both mentally and physically. Simply understanding the loaded offensive playbook is a daunting challenge, one that Carlson tackled throughout his freshman year.
Then he focused on strength gains, where the former 190-pound freshman would build the foundation for his historic junior season.
"Knowing the offense is the first thing you need to do," he said, "but at a certain point, most routes are 1 on 1, and I have to win against this guy. At the top of my route, I have to be physical, and that's where the strength comes in. Corners and safeties aren't used to having big guys on the outside that can push them around."
That is exactly what happened last season. Carlson was always going to be taller than most of the guys who defended him, but now he could fight off press coverage at the line, or position himself for a contested catch, simply because the guy opposite him couldn't deny him. He had at least six catches in seven of 10 games, and he found himself in the end zone in eight games last season. His final score came on a 10-catch, 138-yard day in the season finale at Dartmouth, and it was a touchdown that would have given him the Princeton single-season record for touchdown catches — had it not been broken the previous week.
Amazingly, while Carlson was having a Top-10 receiving season all-time at Princeton, he was doing it while his teammate was having arguably the best one. Jesper Horsted earned All-America honors after breaking Princeton single-season receptions (92) and touchdown receptions (14) records. Without question, the duo made each other better on the field, but Horsted is quick to point out how much Carlson helps get him ready for Saturdays.
"Off the field, he's another guy to push me, because he's such a hard worker," Horsted said. "There have been so many times that I'm running off the field, extremely tired, and he's saying 'we only have four more, I know you can do it.' It would be easy to take them off, but I know Steve won't, so I have to push myself hard too. I can't say enough good things about Steve, and you probably haven't seen the beginning of what he'll do this year."
You don't need to watch many NFL games to realize it has become a passing league, and receivers are in high demand. Playing on Sundays wasn't always a dream for Carlson, but even he admits that it's in the realm of possibilities now.
And that's exactly where he'll keep them for the next two months.
"We know the kind of work it's going to take for us to be a good team this year," Carlson said. "Our No. 1 focus is to be the Ivy League champion. We know we're accountable with everything we do, and we have to just keep pushing a little bit more than we did last year. We need to always be competing with ourselves, and with our defense at practice."
Carlson knows what he needs to do to help Princeton earn a second championship season in three years; if he does that, the scouts will notice.
And so will Jamestown, N.Y.
by Craig Sachson
It's never a surprise to Stephen Carlson that people from his small hometown of Jamestown, N.Y., still care about him, still want to know how he's doing. It's the Jamestown way, a way that played a role in his decision to play football at Princeton.
But even Carlson admits that home visits recently were a bit out of the ordinary.
"It was pretty crazy," he said. "Even some people I didn't know very well were telling me how great it was to see me on TV. It's pretty cool to have that city to go back to, and that people are still keeping track of me."
That's one thing Jamestown will have in common with a number of undersized defensive backs over the next nine weeks — they'll all need to keep track of Steve Carlson.
If Carlson stood out prior to the 2017 Princeton opener, it was only because guys that are 6-5, 225 pounds and clad in all orange tend to draw attention. Statistically, he wasn't far ahead of the 10,000+ fans in attendance that day; he had caught all of two passes in his collegiate career as he played behind a deep group of upperclassmen that had helped Princeton win the 2016 Ivy League title.But he believed this was his time.
"That summer, being around the quarterbacks, being around the strength coaches, seeing the gains I was making, I had a feeling that, through the work I put in, that season I could really contribute to the offense," he said. "I don't know if I exactly saw the huge jump I was going to make. I was just going out there and do what I needed to do. I was really confident with the playbook, really confident in the quarterbacks. I knew if I got open, they would get me the ball."
The first ball Chad Kanoff, now a member of the Arizona Cardinals practice squad, sent to Carlson ended as a nine-yard touchdown. The second one, a 14-yard touchdown. By the end of the 27-17 home win, the previously unknown wideout had caught six passes for 94 yards and three touchdowns.
"I don't think I ever had a three-touchdown game," he said with a laugh. "None that I can remember, and certainly none as meaningful as that."
He was unknown no more, at least not in the Ivy League.
He was never an unknown in Jamestown, though.
He grew up in New York, but not the New York you think of first. His is a town far south and west within the state of New York, about a seven-hour drive from New York City; that's twice as far away as the distance between NYC and Washington, D.C., so that part of his home state is as foreign to him as any common tourist who visits the Big Apple once a year.
His hometown population may match that of a busy day at Times Square, but it's the connection between those people that helped shape Carlson.
"It's a small town where everybody knows who you are," he said. "There's one public high school. The town knows about athletics, and they support athletics. That really helped me. I had a good family background, and I had a good city background that I could lean on.
"You meet people who are really invested in you," he added. "There's no real reason that they need to be invested in you, but they love people who are going to work hard and put their best effort forth all the time. My high school coaches still have my back. When I come back to church now, people still line up to ask me how I'm doing. It helps you grow up to somebody I strive to be — a respectable, nice kid."
There was no way this Johnstown kid was going to enroll at a school the same size, or even bigger, than his hometown. It was a major factor in Carlson's decision to attend Princeton, and the similarities between his two homes has been striking.
"I couldn't see myself going to a 30,000-kid school, where you're a nobody," he said. "This is more than I could ask for. It's like Jamestown, in that people are invested in you here. There's no need for the dining hall service people to be invested in you and ask how you are, but that's what they do here. It's awesome."
An all-state football player who also led Jamestown to the New York state title game in basketball, Carlson had to accept an unfamiliar spot on the sideline over the first two seasons while he developed both mentally and physically. Simply understanding the loaded offensive playbook is a daunting challenge, one that Carlson tackled throughout his freshman year.Then he focused on strength gains, where the former 190-pound freshman would build the foundation for his historic junior season.
"Knowing the offense is the first thing you need to do," he said, "but at a certain point, most routes are 1 on 1, and I have to win against this guy. At the top of my route, I have to be physical, and that's where the strength comes in. Corners and safeties aren't used to having big guys on the outside that can push them around."
That is exactly what happened last season. Carlson was always going to be taller than most of the guys who defended him, but now he could fight off press coverage at the line, or position himself for a contested catch, simply because the guy opposite him couldn't deny him. He had at least six catches in seven of 10 games, and he found himself in the end zone in eight games last season. His final score came on a 10-catch, 138-yard day in the season finale at Dartmouth, and it was a touchdown that would have given him the Princeton single-season record for touchdown catches — had it not been broken the previous week.
Amazingly, while Carlson was having a Top-10 receiving season all-time at Princeton, he was doing it while his teammate was having arguably the best one. Jesper Horsted earned All-America honors after breaking Princeton single-season receptions (92) and touchdown receptions (14) records. Without question, the duo made each other better on the field, but Horsted is quick to point out how much Carlson helps get him ready for Saturdays.
"Off the field, he's another guy to push me, because he's such a hard worker," Horsted said. "There have been so many times that I'm running off the field, extremely tired, and he's saying 'we only have four more, I know you can do it.' It would be easy to take them off, but I know Steve won't, so I have to push myself hard too. I can't say enough good things about Steve, and you probably haven't seen the beginning of what he'll do this year."
You don't need to watch many NFL games to realize it has become a passing league, and receivers are in high demand. Playing on Sundays wasn't always a dream for Carlson, but even he admits that it's in the realm of possibilities now.
And that's exactly where he'll keep them for the next two months.
"We know the kind of work it's going to take for us to be a good team this year," Carlson said. "Our No. 1 focus is to be the Ivy League champion. We know we're accountable with everything we do, and we have to just keep pushing a little bit more than we did last year. We need to always be competing with ourselves, and with our defense at practice."
Carlson knows what he needs to do to help Princeton earn a second championship season in three years; if he does that, the scouts will notice.
And so will Jamestown, N.Y.
by Craig Sachson
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