Riding it out

For several seconds, Keith Carter could have cared less about
the National Football League. Instead of dreams about the NFL draft
and lucrative contracts, Carter’s thoughts turned to his
family, his friends and his life. Despite side-splitting pain, the
UCLA tight end couldn’t help but wonder about his coaches and
teammates. Even as he was being lifted into the ambulance, even
after he had come so close to losing his life, and even as his
mangled motorcycle lay on the ground just yards away, he muttered
to the paramedics, “You guys have no idea how bad my coaches
are going to kill me for this.” And in that instant,
everything about Keith Carter changed. His thoughts no longer
centered on professional football. They focused on simply making it
back to the Rose Bowl in a UCLA uniform.

The Accident It was never surprising that
Carter enjoyed the thrill of riding a motorcycle. His grandfather
Gino Marchetti, former Baltimore Colt defensive end, took him for
rides on his Harley motorcycle, and even allowed Carter to control
the throttle when he was no more than 5 or 6 years old. Once,
Carter really pushed the throttle and caused them to nearly crash
into a neighbor’s door. They ended up on the porch. Carter
received his first dirtbike at age 8, and his first motorcycle at
age 15. During his freshman year at UCLA, his stepfather bought him
a genuine, green Kawasaki ZX9 Ninja. “Los Angeles is really
the perfect place to ride a motorcycle,” Carter said.
“There’s free parking, good weather, and it’s so
much easier to navigate through the traffic.” As UCLA ended
its second day of spring practice ““ April 3, 2003 ““
Carter wasn’t too worried about the evening traffic on the
405 freeway. The drive to his apartment in Palms, even on busy
traffic days, never took longer than 20 minutes. As he got on the
freeway, Carter switched three lanes while dutifully looking over
his shoulder. But traffic was still too slow for Carter’s
taste, and he saw an opening to his left. “I probably got a
little impatient,” Carter admitted later. When Carter looked
over his shoulder again, the car in front of him screeched to a
stop, leaving smoke from burnt rubber. Carter then hit the brakes,
causing his motorcycle to fishtail. He flew, twisting through the
air, much like he would for a diving catch over the middle. And
with the violence of a helmet-to-helmet collision, Carter’s
entire hip rammed into the left taillight of a stationary Ford
Explorer. Carter hit the ground headfirst, with his helmet taking
the brunt of the damage. Recognizing that he was smack dab in the
middle of the 405 freeway, Carter threw his hands up. Cars swerved
and slammed to a halt, and Carter, finally feeling safe, tried to
stand. But his legs wouldn’t move. He looked down at his
right foot, which pointed at a 90-degree angle to his left foot.
“What the hell is going on?” a dazed Carter wondered.
As his body went into shock, Carter collapsed onto the ground. The
Long Road Back Carter came to UCLA by way of Pennsylvania. He had
some talent in baseball and basketball as well, playing both sports
in high school. In fact, it was during a high school basketball
practice that the team’s football coaches saw his leaping
ability and called him over to receive passes from a quarterback.
After several catches, they told him, “You’re going to
be our tight end next year.” As it turned out, Carter had a
future in football. He was rated a Top 5 tight end nationally by
several recruiting publications, and scholarship offers rolled in
from across the country. He was recruited by the likes of Penn
State, Notre Dame and Georgia, but something about UCLA kept the
Bruins on his list. When Carter finally made an official visit to
Westwood, he met UCLA tight ends coach Gary Bernardi. “When I
got back home, I told my mom that this was the guy who I wanted to
be playing for,” Carter said. He redshirted his freshman year
and earned Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year honors. Last
season, in his first action on the field, Carter caught five passes
for 33 yards behind starter Mike Seidman. This season, however, was
supposed to be his breakout year. He entered spring practice as the
starting tight end on the depth chart, and UCLA head coach Karl
Dorrell talked at length about the role of the tight end in his
offense. That was all the more reason why Carter was so
disappointed following the crash. He was aided on the freeway by an
off-duty nurse and fireman, both of whom comforted him until the
ambulance arrived. When Carter came out of shock, while laying on a
gurney in the emergency room at the UCLA Medical Center, he worried
about his football future. Doctors initially told him they could
pop the dislocated hip back into place. Tiny bone chips, however,
caused complications in the procedure, and doctors realized Carter
would have to undergo surgery. By this time, the nurses had already
informed Carter’s mother, Gina Burgess. “It was two in
the morning,” Burgess said. “Those calls are actually
normal for us, because of the distance. However, when it
wasn’t Keith, I just couldn’t believe it. It’s
one of those calls that, as a parent, you never want to get.”
Burgess’ first call was to Bernardi, who reassured her that
he would take care of Carter. Bernardi and his wife immediately
took off for the hospital. “When you recruit somebody,
you’re obligated to do more on the field than just coach
them,” Bernardi said. “He came a long way, and I
promised his mom that I’d take care of him as best I could,
so it was my responsibility to be there for him.” For the
following 48 hours, either Bernardi or his wife were always by
Carter’s bedside. By the time Carter regained consciousness
following his surgery, Burgess had finally been able to catch a
flight out of Pennsylvania to Los Angeles. The next several months
involved a rehabilitation process that was both long and arduous.
Bedridden for the first several weeks, the family of roommate and
backup quarterback John Sciarra offered to take him in. Mrs.
Sciarra cooked and cared for the disabled Carter. “I felt
like their fourth child,” Carter said. “They were
lifesavers. I needed help doing everything, and they basically
babied me.” At the beginning of fall practice, Carter took
the practice field at the same time as his teammates. But instead
of participating in tight end drills, Carter worked with the
trainer to strengthen his hip. Still, Carter received good news for
the first time in a long while. The rehab was going so well that,
not only was the injury not career-threatening, it also
wasn’t season-ending, as doctors had originally feared.
Carter had a chance to be back for the Pac-10 opener against
Washington, and that was the goal that he set.

The Return As the sun scorches another midweek
practice, Keith Carter goes through the motions with Coach Bernardi
and his fellow tight ends. It will be the third straight week
Carter will make an attempt to come back. Two weeks ago against
Arizona, the game was too close for Carter to enter, and last week
before the Cal game, his hips flared up during warm-ups. He’s
hoping the third time’s a charm against Arizona State this
week. “He’s like a brother to us,” tight end
Marcedes Lewis said. “So to see him get so close to the edge,
but not get over, it’s heartbreaking.” Carter’s
roller-coaster rehabilitation, with its highs and lows, advances
and setbacks, have only strengthened his resolve. Even as those
around him wondered if his football days were over, Carter never
had a doubt. “I never thought this was a career-ending
injury,” Carter said. “I had no other choice. I had to
stay optimistic, because I don’t think I could deal with
losing football.” His motorcycle is 3,000 miles away now,
locked away in a garage. It’s been fixed, but only
Carter’s stepfather rides it now. His parents made him
promise he would not get on another motorcycle until his football
days were over. Carter now drives a forest green Buick instead.
“There’s enough steel in it so that if I got into
another accident, the other car would be a pancake,” Carter
said. Carter still hopes to make it to the NFL. But if the accident
has taught him anything, it’s that he can’t take
football for granted. “It makes you value everything
more,” Carter said. “Laying there helpless on the 405
freeway made me appreciate football and put my life in perspective.
I just want to get back out there on the field and have a good time
with the guys.” The horn blows, and despite the heat,
Bernardi asks Carter to do some intense blocking drills. Carter
doesn’t mind. He couldn’t ask for anything more.