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Quite A Catch

Carlson Only Getting Better And Better At Princeton

Princeton wide receiver Stephen Carlson has 33 catches for 520 yards and five touchdowns this season. Photo courtesy of Princeton University

Everyone was wearing a smile for the photo opportunity at McElrath Gymnasium on that winter day during Jamestown High School’s 2014-15 school year.

Stephen Carlson was seated on the left, his mother, Sue, on the right.

Standing behind them were athletic director Ben Drake, Red Raider varsity football coach Tom Langworthy and principal Mike McElrath.

Fresh off a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA championship, Carlson had a pen in his right hand, poised to place his signature on his letter-of-intent to attend Princeton University. While only 7 percent of applicants are accepted to one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning on the planet, it was hardly a surprise to anyone who knew him that Carlson — the first-team all-state football player and honor-roll student — would be a member of that exclusive freshman class later that fall.

Because it always seemed like everything he touched back in those days turned to gold.

Princeton wide receiver Stephen Carlson is up to 104 catches for 1,455 yards and 16 touchdowns for his career. Photo courtesy of Princeton University

In the classroom.

In the community.

On the football field.

Fast-forward nearly four years, and guess what?

As Carlson is in the early stages of his senior year at Princeton, nothing has changed, and yet everything has changed. While still the humble, self-effacing, polite young man he was during his high school days, Carlson has seen the trajectory of his football experience take off. Not only have the Tigers opened this season with five straight wins, but they are also doing it in record-setting fashion, finding themselves ranked among the top FCS schools in the country.

Carlson has played a huge role in making that happen.

How big?

“Steve has developed into one of the best receivers in the nation,” Princeton head coach Bob Surace said.

Ponder that statement for a moment.

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When the Tigers take to the road Saturday for a noon meeting with Harvard, Carlson will be a player to watch. In his last four games, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound wide receiver has caught five touchdown passes, including a pair of scores in the Ivy League opener against Columbia, and another last weekend against Brown. He is now tied for third on Princeton’s career TD receptions list with 16.

For perspective, prior to his junior season, Carlson had made two career catches.

Total.

But when you add his stats from last year (71 catches, 935 yards, 11 touchdowns) to what he’s done so far this season (33 receptions, 520 yards and the five TDs), he is placing himself among the all-time best at his position in school history.

“He has all the physical credentials, from size, speed and great hands,” Surace said, “but what separates him is his work ethic and attention to detail. He could end his career in the top two in career touchdown catches at Princeton, a testament to the trust his coaches and quarterbacks have developed in him.”

Carlson said earlier this week by phone from the Princeton campus that after playing only sparingly his freshman and sophomore seasons, he began to turn some heads during spring practice in 2017.

“I finally fully grasped our offensive playbook,” he said. “The hardest part, even with all my (academic) classes, was learning the playbook. That sophomore (spring), I really felt confident with the playbook, I felt confident with my size, speed and strength, and I think those two things coming together allowed me to just play football confidently. That allowed my mind to focus. Once you stop trying to not mess up, things become simpler and the game kind of slows down.”

For Princeton opponents, the last two seasons have been a nightmare as they try to game plan for Carlson and fellow wideout, Jesper Horsted, the school’s all-time leader in TD receptions with 23.

Through five games, the talented tandem has combined for 68 catches and they are the only two players in the Ivy League with more than 500 receiving yards. Incredibly, they have accomplished all that despite having had only one catch made in the fourth quarter — a 13-yard TD grab by Carlson on the first play of the final period against Monmouth.

“To be honest, I don’t really think that much has changed as far as my work ethic or how I approach practice,” Carlson said of his rapid rise the last two seasons. “There’s no substitute for putting in the work in practice and there’s no substitute in working hard. That’s something I really have prided myself in. The coaches have been able to see that I’m one of the hardest workers … on the team. Other players can feed off that. … Other players who were similar to me my freshman and sophomore year can see the things they’re capable of doing and follow a similar path. … You know it’s going to be hard, (so) put your head down and just do it.”

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Sporting a 3.0 grade-point average, Carlson will graduate in May with a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology, but his career plans are to get involved in a sports-related field.

“I’ve loved my major and the faculty,” he said. “I think the main thing I will pull from my (degree) are the specific skills I’ve learned, mainly with research. After I put my pads away, I still want to keep some sports in my life. … I love sports, I love the mindset of athletes and how they prepare.”

If all goes according to plan after Princeton’s season ends next month, Carlson may not be quite ready to give up the game he loves.

“Definitely it’s one of my goals to go to the next level,” he said. ” … I know it’s only a small percentage of college athletes who make it to the next level. Playing in the NFL isn’t something I have thought of or been a goal since I was young, but now that it seems like I have an opportunity on the horizon I think there would be a way for (me) to at least put my effort into it full-go.”

He added: “It’s all about finishing the season right now. (Thoughts of a professional football career) are pretty far away for me. I just have to focus on the last five games. Whatever comes after that I’ll hash out my goals, see what’s important to me and my family and go from there.”

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Before arriving at Princeton, Carlson did a little bit of everything, both inside Jamestown High School and in the community. By the time he graduated with honors, he had also earned pretty much every athletic and academic award possible.

But as he sat in McElrath Gymnasium that winter day for the photo that announced to the world his college plans he had “no idea what was next.”

“I knew that I would give it my all and try my best,” he said. “I didn’t know it would be at the point where I am right now and that I’d be able to accomplish what I’ve been able to accomplish so far.”

But one thing he did know is from where he came.

“I also knew how I was raised — my family, all the friends and community members who helped me — and that I had a good background,” he said. “I knew I would stay humble, keep my head down and do the work, and it would lead me to the point where I could be partially successful, and that’s what’s happened so far.”

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