Blue draft pick arrives with chip on shoulder

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This article was published 28/05/2009 (6028 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

INJECT him with a truth serum and Thaine Carter will likely admit he’s still a little bitter, perhaps even angry, about the whole thing.

The top defensive player in Canadian college football doesn’t get drafted until the sixth round, 45th overall? An All-Canadian, a Queen’s Golden Gaels captain, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound wrecking ball is still sitting there when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers finally scoop him up with the fourth-last pick in the draft? What gives here?

Funny thing is, Carter is also intelligent enough to understand now how to channel those emotions and, perhaps, even use them to his advantage when rookie training camp opens next month. What Bomber fans will see, he vows, is a player with something to prove and a size-large chip on his shoulder.

"’Chip on my shoulder’ is a good term," Carter said Wednesday, not long after the Bombers announced the signing of all four of their 2009 draft picks. "Draft day was kinda weird. My mom left the house because she couldn’t handle the tension and my dad was pacing.

"It was pretty tough, but it became a test of my faith. I believe things happen for a reason and I’ve stayed positive. It was frustrating at the time, but I got chosen and a lot of good players didn’t. I’ve been given a shot and that’s all I need. I work well as an underdog.

"I’m looking at this now as a blessing," Carter added. "Had I been drafted highly, maybe I would have been a little too comfortable in my skin. Now I’m back to a place I like to be: I’m hungry. This is all I’ve been thinking about for the past month. I’m ready to get out there and just give ‘er hell."

Carter’s 2008 season at Queen’s was spectacular. He became the first player from that school to earn the Presidents’ Trophy as the country’s top defender. He led the team in tackles for the second-straight season while adding three sacks, two forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries in eight games. But about a week before the pre-draft combine, Carter tore his calf muscle while training. That meant he was a spectator at the combine and his last impression before the draft was iffy.

"He was a bit of a tweener, but I certainly think with his intelligence and ability to run he can be a big contributor on special teams early in his career," Bomber head coach Mike Kelly said.

"I like that he’s got a chip on his shoulder. To be quite honest with ya, we were trying to find as many guys with chips on their shoulders as we could get. We want to play with a chip on our shoulder. I want to coach with a chip on my shoulder."

The other three Bomber draft choices agreeing to their first pro contracts are UBC OL Mike Morris, Wilfrid Laurier OL Adam Bestard and teammate Peter Quinney, a running back/fullback.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca