NEDERLAND — Justin Carr had a decision to make, and the Nederland senior put the choice on his own shoulders.
Carr said he has de-committed from Lamar and on National Signing Day Wednesday will sign to play football at Tyler Junior College.
“I have been sitting on the thought since Tyler offered me two or three weeks ago,” Carr said. “I took a visit to the campus and liked it. I took my official visit to Lamar last weekend and really had a great time, but at that point I was 50-50 on my decision.”
Both Lamar and Tyler coaches recruited Carr to play tight end, a position he has not worked at being throughout high school. He played on the Bulldogs offensive line in high school.
Carr stands 6-feet-6 and weighs 210 pounds. He said after his visit with Lamar, he lost a lot of sleep while considering what to do about his future. It came down to which school offered Carr the best chance to play this upcoming season and which university best allowed him the opportunity to learn a new position.
“I have nothing against Lamar,” Carr added. “I have a good chance to start at Tyler. I have never played as a legit tight end. I wanted the chance to learn the position and hopefully down the road that leads to a bigger scholarship from a Division I school.”
It is not the norm for a high school player who has an offer from a D-I school to flip to a junior college team, especially this late in the recruiting process.
“I know there are some people who say I am stupid for making this decision,” Carr said. “A lot of people will call me crazy to pass up a D-I school for a junior college. It’s my life. If I somehow mess it up, then that was my choice. I have the confidence in myself to make this work. Trust me, it wasn’t an easy decision to make.”
Nederland senior running back Austin Krautz is still expected to sign with Lamar, and so are Port Neches-Groves quarterback Adam Morse, receiver Caisen Sullivan and defensive lineman Christian Langston.
Besides the study habits and practice schedule, there is a huge problem for Carr to get used to when he gets to Tyler. Its mascot is the Apaches, meaning he will go from being his beloved Bulldog to an Indian.
“That is the only downside to all this,” Carr joked. “The only reason this is halfway OK is because their colors are black and gold. Learning how to tomahawk chop is the least of my worries.”
The Apaches went 7-3 last season and finished second in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference standings behind Trinity Valley. Tyler finished the year No. 16 in the NJCAA national poll.