South Paulding was looking for some answers on offense headed into the 2023 season and senior CJ Carrington has jumped into the picture as an impact player. The 5’10” 190 lbs. athlete has been making impressive plays in space and that was never more true than last week’s top play.
South Paulding was at midfield with Carrington lined up in the slot. What originally looked like a routine handoff to the running back, quickly became a surprise reverse with the ball now in the hands of Carrington. The senior went racing down the left sideline and got around one last defender before sprinting the final 20 yards into the endzone.
The expertly-called play utilized Carrington’s good top-end speed but also his balance to get around tacklers as well. It was a good sample of the talent that Carrington can provide, but even with his new role at South Paulding, the senior is mostly focused on the team finishing strong.
“Senior year team-wise not going the best right now but we still got another 5 games to bounce back and get into the playoffs,” Carrington said.
This was a rebuilding year of sorts for South Paulding after the graduation of several key D1 playmakers on last year’s team. Carrington has helped supplant that loss of talent and has some goals he would like to achieve in the 2nd half of the season.
“My goal for the rest of the season is just to make more plays for my team and go 5-0,” he reiterated.
Coming over from Douglas County, Carrington has had the opportunity to grow a lot as a player on South Paulding this season. The senior believes there are two areas where he has drastically improved over the last year.
“Where I improved the most is honestly my confidence. I realized football is 90% mental. Another thing I improved a lot is my speed. I went from a high 4.7 to a low 4.5,” Carrington said.
What we like about Carrington’s film is obviously the good speed he shows in the open field. He has a natural forward lean to his running gait and does a nice job of maintaining speed while changing directions.
His recruitment is on solid footing and Carrington is hearing from a slew of programs.
“The schools I’m hearing from right now are Berry, Austin Peay, and Cal Lutheran Kingsmen. I have taken a college visit to Berry University in the fall but that’s it right now.”
Carrington appears to be putting together some solid film during his senior year, and considering his stout frame and good top-line speed, we really think more local programs will jump into the fray and recruit the 2024 prospect. So be sure to follow @RecruitGeorgia to hear the latest on Carrington and players all across the state of Georgia.
