Latest news with #BobbyCarpenter
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Ohio State Star Sets Clear Expectations for Lincoln Riley
Former Ohio State Star Sets Clear Expectations for Lincoln Riley originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Anthony Schlegel, former Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker and strength coach, isn't mincing words when it comes to USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley's outlook in 2025. During an appearance on "The Bobby Carpenter Show," Schlegel made it clear that the pressure is on Riley to deliver. Advertisement 'You have to win this year. He has to,' Schlegel said bluntly when asked about Riley's future in Los Angeles. Schlegel, known for his no-nonsense approach as both a player and coach, questioned why Riley's Trojans have continued to underperform despite having top-tier talent on the roster. 'There is that expectation. A coach with the pedigree that Lincoln Riley has with Heisman Trophies, then what is missing?' Schlegel asked. That question looms large after a disappointing 8–5 season in 2023, which included defensive meltdowns and a late-season collapse despite the presence of 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at quarterback. Things took another step back in 2024 as the Trojans finished with a 7-6 record. Advertisement Riley made a major staff move last offseason by hiring D'Anton Lynn away from the UCLA Bruins to fix the defensive issues, but Schlegel still isn't convinced that's enough long term. 'Let's make a change, they got better," Schlegel said. "You had a Heisman Trophy quarterback and [the team] still kinda sucked. So, why? Is it the team? What's the culture like in the building?' USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley.© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Schlegel also wondered aloud about player development under Riley's staff: 'If you got the talent, are they not being developed? I don't know what it is, but you're the head man.' USC has stepped up its efforts in recruiting, accumulating the No. 1 class for 2026, per Rivals. However, that class is still a year away from being on campus. Advertisement 'This is the year,' he said. 'No more excuses. It's put up or shut up.' Related: No. 1 Recruiting Class Gets Major 4th of July News Related: 2027 4-Star QB Predicted to Big Ten Powerhouse This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
92 Before 20: How A Perfect Situation With The Kings Helped A Young Jimmy Carson Make History
By Bill Hoppe, Features Writer Jimmy Carson is on the phone chatting about his exploits as the greatest teenage goal-scorer in NHL history, and he's doing a little research at the same time. He can't remember when he learned that the 92 goals he scored for the Los Angeles Kings – 37 as a rookie in 1986-87 and a whopping 55 in 1987-88, the highest total by a U.S.-born player at the time – are the most by a player under 20. The affable, down-to-earth Carson, the No. 2 overall pick in 1986, is pretty sure he had no idea at the time. He thinks perhaps he heard about it in 2013 when TSN aired a feature on his career to mark the 25th anniversary of that little trade he was involved in that sent Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles. 'At some point, someone said, 'You know, you have the most goals in the history of the NHL as a teenager,' ' Carson said. Carson never looked into it until now. 'I've been led to believe that's an accurate record,' he said. 'Is 'record' the right word?' Record. Achievement. Distinction. Whatever you want to call it, Carson owns it. From Oct. 11, 1986, when he scored a power-play goal in his second NHL game, until March 30, 1988, when he tallied four times and broke Bobby Carpenter's record for most goals in a season by an American player, he compiled 92 regular-season goals before he turned 20 on July 20, 1988. Carson is so curious about his accomplishment – he wants to double-check he's really first – he types 'most goals in NHL history by a teenager' into an internet search engine. 'Let's see what comes up,' said Carson, now 56 and working as a personal financial representative in suburban Detroit. Click here if you agree that Nathan MacKinnon is the best player in the NHL right now. Top 💯: — The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) April 20, 2025 First, he finds another one of his records: most goals in a single season by a teenager, 55. After adjusting his search, he finds what he's looking for. The legendary names behind Carson on the list of the top teenage scorers – Dale Hawerchuk, Gretzky, Sidney Crosby – illustrate how dynamically he performed. Hawerchuk (85) had the second-most goals, followed by Patrik Laine (80), Gretzky and Brian Bellows (76 each) and Crosby (75). No one else has hit 70. So, how has Carson's mark lasted for 37 years? For starters, most youngsters don't play two full seasons as a teenager. Gretzky turned 20 about halfway through his second season with the Edmonton Oilers. Ditto for Connor McDavid, who broke his clavicle as a rookie en route to 16 goals in 45 games. The high-scoring era Carson played in certainly buoyed him. In 1986-87 and '87-88, the NHL averaged 7.3 and 7.4 goals per game. In 2023-24, games averaged 6.2 goals. In 2024-25, the average was 6.0 goals. While some teenagers possess the talent and maturity to produce in a demanding league, it usually takes years. McDavid and Connor Bedard are often called generational talents. Bedard, who turns 20 on July 17, scored 45 goals over his first two seasons with two awful Chicago Blackhawks teams. Several other factors (most notably talent) contributed to Carson's unique place in history. He used his speed and lethal shot to make an immediate impact. 'He had an explosive first few strides,' said Morris Lukowich, one of the linemates Carson played with as a rookie. 'He had huge legs. That was one thing that was tremendous about him. When he got the puck, he'd be gone.' JIMMY CARSON But Carson, the NHL's youngest player during his rookie season, also found himself in the right place at the right time in Los Angeles. The Kings immediately expressed their belief in him, putting him in situations to succeed and showcase his high-end skill set. Like the rest of the Smythe Division in the late 1980s, they played an up-tempo style. Carson was teammates with respected veterans – Marcel Dionne, one of his childhood heroes, Dave Taylor and others – who welcomed him. He also adapted to the NHL alongside Luc Robitaille, another special rookie. If Carson's hometown Detroit Red Wings, who owned the No. 1 pick in 1986, had drafted him, he wouldn't have enjoyed the same early success. The Wings selected Joe Murphy, who, coincidentally, was traded for Carson in 1989. 'In hindsight, it was a real blessing for me, I believe, that I was not picked by Detroit, because they had a whole different style of play, and the Norris Division was much more clutch-and-grab,' Carson said. 'Who knows if I would've made the team or if I would've been sent to the minors or back to juniors? Would I have had as good of a start? You never know how those things develop.' Carson, who scored 70 goals and 153 points for the QMJHL's Verdun Junior Canadiens in 1985-86, learned early in his first training camp just how much the Kings valued him. 'I had a pretty good training camp,' he said. 'And then, we started some exhibition games, and I was told, 'You're making the team, and we expect you to be an impact player right away.' ' The news filled the durable Carson, who played all 160 games over his first two seasons, with confidence. If he had a poor shift or a weak game, he never felt like he would be demoted. While he admits he was raw, he produced from the get-go on a line between Lukowich and Taylor. 'Wherever I played, I could put numbers on the board and score,' he said. 'It just kind of started translating right away.' As a rookie, Carson never went more than eight games without a goal. He enjoyed his hottest stretch in late March, scoring nine times in seven games to hit 37 goals. Meanwhile, Robitaille, a ninth-round pick from 1984 who was always exceeding expectations, scored 45 goals. Having entered the league together, Carson and Robitaille are often linked. They developed a close friendship off the ice and displayed special chemistry on it when they became linemates in 1987-88. 'We were both kind of finding our way around,' Carson said. 'But Luc always exerted such enthusiasm and love of the game and a very strong offensive nose. We had a lot of fun off the ice. We had a lot of fun on the ice. And we were putting some good numbers up.' Carson – whose 186 points as a teen rank fourth behind Crosby, Gretzky and Hawerchuk – remembers watching the 1987 Canada Cup with Robitaille during their second training camp in Victoria, B.C. When Gretzky and Lemieux combined to score their legendary tournament-clinching goal against the Soviet Union – Lemieux, a right-handed shot, moved the puck to Gretzky, a lefty, on the left wing before completing a 2-on-1 – Carson, a righty, and Robitaille, a lefty, looked at each other and said, 'Wow!' 'We're like, 'We're going to have to use that play this year,' and I'll never forget, we actually did a few times,' Carson said. 'I think we called it 'The Mario' or something. I remember a few times, right in the middle of a game, we would see the play develop, and one of us would yell, 'Mario!' ' Carson scored his 50th during a three-goal performance on March 26, 1988. He scored four times four days later, reaching 92 goals as a teenager. Robitaille, who turned 22 that season, scored 53 goals. Then, four months after Carson scored five goals in five games in the 1988 playoffs, the Kings sent him to Edmonton in the massive deal that landed them Gretzky. But even before he was a major part of the biggest trade in sports, Carson had secured his place in hockey history. His early success might never be duplicated. 'It's very hard to compare eras,' Carson said. 'Am I surprised? I've never really thought about it.' This article appeared in our 2025 Top-100 NHLers issue. This issue focuses on the 100 best players currently in the NHL, with the Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon sitting atop the list. We also include features on Alex Ovechkin finally beating Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record, and former CFL running back Andrew Harris' switch to semi-professional hockey. In addition, we provide a PWHL playoff preview as the regular season nears its end. You can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
USA Today
05-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Cowboys swap linebackers to 2x Pro Bowler worth $48 million in draft do-over
Cowboys swap linebackers to 2x Pro Bowler worth $48 million in draft do-over PFF recently added 2006 grades to their arsenal, taking the opportunity to redraft that year's class. With the 2025 draft now squarely in the rearview mirror, the Dallas Cowboys are off and running in working to their return to the playoffs. This past weekend was rookie minicamp and the club got a chance to see their new troops in action. Despite a front office's best efforts, there's never a surefire result awaiting the team's selections, not even for the first-round picks. Sometimes, things just don't work out for a player. Whether they were a square peg for a round hole, or just not as talented as hoped for, first-round picks are far from guaranteed hits. In the case of their 2006 first rounder, the Dallas Cowboys caught a bad one. In Bill Parcells' second season at the helm, he wanted to find his star off-ball linebacker and selected Ohio State's Bobby Carpenter to fit the bill. But what if a different decision was made? Pro Football Focus recently went back and did a 2006 re-draft based on their grading scale. Sitting at No. 18, the Dallas Cowboys still ended up taking a linebacker, only this time they didn't miss. The choice? Current Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, who was drafted by that organization as the No. 33 pick, early in the second round. 18. Dallas Cowboys: LB DeMeco Ryans, Alabama (Round 2, Pick No. 33) Original pick: LB Bobby Carpenter, Ohio State The Cowboys featured a stout offense at the time of the 2006 NFL Draft. They ended up selecting Bobby Carpenter from Ohio State, but the better pick would have been Ryans at the same position. He ended up winning Defensive Rookie of the Year while leading the NFL in solo tackles in 2006. Through his first five seasons, he earned an 85.6 PFF overall grade. Ryans was not only Rookie of the Year in 2006, but he was also a Pro Bowler in both 2007 and 2009. After spending six seasons in Houston, he played another four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Across his 10-year career, Ryans earned over $48 million in salary and started 139 of his 140 career games. Carpenter's career spanned seven seasons, across which he stared just 10 games and earned under $9 million.
