Rams | Carriker's job No. 1: Stop teams' run

ST. LOUIS — As his football career totes him around the country, Kennewick's Adam Carriker has found that folks often have the wrong picture of where he grew up.

"A lot of people think of Washington and they think of rain, they think of green, they think of mountains," says Carriker, the 23-year-old St. Louis Rams' defensive lineman. "Actually in Kennewick, it's a desert. ... I remember playing Little League [baseball] and it being like 115 degrees. ... it's just dry heat and I loved it."

Carriker is helping change the perception of a lot of things, most notably that rookies can't make an immediate impact. The 13th overall pick in April's draft has won a starting job at nose tackle, and the Rams are hoping he can help rebuild a unit that has ranked 29th, 28th and 31st against the rush, respectively, the last three seasons.

Rams coach Scott Linehan says Carriker was "probably one of the best parts of this entire preseason. Once we put the pads on, he's really improved and really shored up the middle of our defense, particularly the nose. He's really, really played well."

Carriker was born in Hastings, Neb., and lived in the Midwest until the age of 3, when Chevron asked his father, Dave, to take a position in Kennewick. The Carrikers moved to the town of about 60,000 on the Columbia River, and it became home for Adam. He played youth baseball and basketball and later, as a 6-foot-4, 190-pound freshman, became the quarterback of the high-school football team.

If you've never heard of the Kennewick High football program, don't worry ... some of the folks at the school haven't either. The Lions won two games during Carriker's four seasons — none as a freshman or senior. But Carriker continued to grow and soon he outgrew the QB position.

"To this day, I think he would have been a great quarterback," Dave Carriker said. "He just got sick of 11 guys coming to kill him every play."

After a switch to defensive end, Carriker's first scholarship offer came from Oregon State. But the Beavers and others who courted Carriker, including Washington State, learned he had a deep-rooted affection for his native state of Nebraska.

"There wasn't any red in the house, maybe one or two hats," Dave Carriker said. "I didn't understand what a fan he became just sitting with me watching the [Nebraska] games. But when we went on an official visit, there was no doubt where he was going."

"[Oregon State] offered me first, but once Nebraska offered it was pretty easy," the younger Carriker said. "That was kind of my dream when I was a little kid to play football there."

At Nebraska, Carriker made himself into a 6-6, 296-pound monster who could run a 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds. He finished his college career with 134 tackles and 20 ½ sacks, and was named the Big 12's defensive lineman of the year as a senior.

Carriker signed a five-year, $12.8 million contract after missing the first of two practices on the opening day of training camp. As the contract was being explained to him at the Rams' practice complex, Carriker was staring out at the players on the field, more worried about missing practice than his new deal.

"I need to get on the field, I need to learn the plays, I need to get practice time in," Carriker said. "I need to get acclimated to the NFL."

Carriker, now 303 pounds, has done that in six weeks. His motor is described as constantly running.

"I don't know anything different to be honest with you," he said. "I grew up blue-collar, smash-mouth, in your face. That's just how I was raised. I don't know anything different."

Linehan said Carriker has been "great" in handling his transition to the NFL.

"He's come in and done his talking with his play and his improvement and his hard work," Linehan said. "He's just got to get the snaps under his belt."

It's about changing perceptions for Carriker.

"Coming into the NFL as a rookie," he said, "you hear about all of these rookie busts, how much better everyone is. Can you play up to that level? And then moving to nose guard, something I've never played before, it raised some question marks even in my mind. I'm a pretty confident guy, but I think I've done pretty well. I've still got a lot of improving to do, but I feel confident with how I've progressed."