Sat, Sep 06 2008
|
|
Published July 02, 2008 11:46 pm - Shannon Carter and Greg Nation would sit in the football offices at Tulsa and talk shop. Both were graduate assistant coaches under then-head coach Steve Kragthorpe in 2005 and 2006. Both were defensive coaches, with Nation having been a head coach at Bishop Kelley from 1996-2004. Carter, a former Tulsa player, was just getting his feet wet. Carter gets his big shot running NHS' D Scott Moore The Norman Transcript Former El Reno defensive backs coach will call the plays for Tigers’ defense
Shannon Carter and Greg Nation would sit in the football offices at Tulsa and talk shop. Both were graduate assistant coaches under then-head coach Steve Kragthorpe in 2005 and 2006. Both were defensive coaches, with Nation having been a head coach at Bishop Kelley from 1996-2004. Carter, a former Tulsa player, was just getting his feet wet. Nation was looking to get another head coaching job when he was done at Tulsa. “He knew I wanted to coach,” Carter said. “He told me that when he got another head coaching job, I’d be his defensive coordinator. I was like, yeah, OK, because you tend to lose track of people over time.” Early last month, Carter was living and coaching at his alma mater, El Reno, when the phone rang. “Coach Carter, are you ready,” the voice asked. “I said, ‘Who is this?’” Carter said. It was Nation on the other end. He was hired in May to take over for recently retired Butch Peters at Norman High, and he was making good on his promise. Carter was the only change on the Tigers’ staff. He took over the defensive coordinator spot vacated by Kevin Ball, who also applied for the NHS head coaching spot. “I feel blessed and I feel fortunate,” Carter said. It’s a big step up for the 29-year-old Carter. His only high school coaching experience was last season, when he coached the defensive backs at El Reno. He was also the ninth grade boys basketball coach and a junior high baseball coach. But making the transition to running a Class 6A defense shouldn’t be a problem. As Carter put it, his life was all about making transitions. When you spend six years traveling from city to city playing minor league baseball, you tend to deal with change. “It really hasn’t been that difficult,” Carter said. “My personality allows me to adjust, anyway. The adjustment was probably harder for the kids.” Carter played football, baseball and basketball at El Reno before graduating in 1997. In football, he ran the wishbone at quarterback and started at safety. He was recruited by Oklahoma State, Rice and Air Force. 
•
Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
Click here to load this Caspio Bridge DataPage.
Click here to load this Caspio Bridge DataPage.
More from the Local Sports section
|
Print this story
E-mail this story
Post to del.icio.us
Discuss this story
 |
 |
 |
||||||
|
||||||
 |
© 2008, The Norman Transcript P.O. Drawer 1058, Norman, OK 73070 Phone: 405-321-1800 Fax: 405-366-3516 Send us your news tips & comments. |
Popular Business directory links - Norman Apartments | Norman Attorneys | Norman Auto Dealers | Norman Auto Parts | Norman Auto Repair | Norman Beauty Salons | Norman Car Rental | Norman Dentists | Norman Doctors | Norman Flowers | Norman Hotels | Norman Insurance | Norman Loans | Norman Mortgages | Norman Movers | Norman Pizza | Norman Realtors | Norman Restaurants | Norman Storage | Norman Tax Preparation | Norman Travel | Norman Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |