Adam Carriker

• 2006 Preseason All-American (Playboy, Athlon, Lindy’s)
• 2006 Preseason First-Team All-Big 12 (Athlon, Lindy’s)
• 2006 Preseason Second-Team All-Big 12 (Sporting News)
• Two-Time Lombardi Award Watch List (2005, 2006)
• 2006 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
• 2006 Chuck Bednarik Watch List
• 2006 Lott Trophy Watch List
• 2005 Nebraska Defensive MVP
• 2005 First-Team All-Big 12 (Associated Press, Dallas Morning News)
• 2005 Second-Team All-Big 12 (Coaches, Kansas City Star, Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio Express News)
• Three-Time Big 12 Commissioner’s Spring Academic Honor Roll (2003, 2005, 2006)
• 2004 Nebraska Lifter of the Year

2006 (Senior)

Defensive end Adam Carriker completed a dominant <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska career in the 2007 AT&T Cotton Bowl against Auburn. In 2006, Carriker earned Nebraska’s Defensive MVP honor for the second straight season, and was honored as the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year by the league’s coaches.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

One of the top defensive ends in the nation, the 6-6, 295-pound Carriker boasted a unique combination of size, speed, strength and agility that allowed him to control the line of scrimmage. Carriker regularly showed the ability to apply pressure to the quarterback and stop the run while taking on multiple blockers from his base end position.

 

Carriker finished the season with a team-leading seven sacks and ranked second on the team with 16 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. His 52 total tackles led all Nebraska defensive linemen, and he also paced the Blackshirt defense with 12 quarterback hurries, while registering his first career interception.

 

The Kennewick, Wash., native was at his best late in the year, notching six of his sacks and nine of his tackles for loss in the season’s final six games. During the late-season stretch, he tied his career-high of two sacks against both OklahomaState and Colorado. 

 

Carriker was honored for his strong senior season. In addition to his selection as Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, Carriker was a first-team All-Big 12 pick by several sources, including the Big 12 Coaches and the Associated Press. He was also a third-team All-America selection by Rivals.com.

 

The strong senior season put Carriker’s name in a prominent position in the NU record books. He finished with 41 career tackles for loss to rank fifth in the program’s history. Carriker has 20.5 career sacks to rank sixth on the Cornhusker charts.

 

Carriker opened the year in strong fashion, notching a sack on the opening series of the game against Louisiana Tech. He finished the contest with three tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and two quarterback hurries. Carriker tied for the team lead with six tackles against NichollsState. In a 56-0 shutout of the Trojans, Carriker had one tackle for loss among his three stops, while registering a pass breakup and two quarterback hurries.

 

Carriker posted one of the top outings of his senior season in a 39-32 Husker overtime victory over Kansas. He finished with a season-high eight tackles, including three tackles for loss, tying his season high. Carriker also added a quarterback hurry against the Jayhawks. Carriker then had five tackles, including a pair of solo stops as Nebraska fell just short of knocking off the fifth-ranked Longhorns.

 

Carriker experienced one of the finest games of his career at OklahomaState, totaling six tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. In addition to his day in the OSU backfield, he also blocked his first career kick on a second-quarter point-after attempt. In Nebraska’s crucial North Division victory over Missouri, Carriker finished the day with two solo tackles. His biggest play of the 34-20 victory was his first career interception deep in Tiger territory late in the first quarter.

 

Carriker had a big game as Nebraska wrapped up the North Division crown at Texas A&M. He made six tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. His sack of Aggie quarterback Stephen McGee came on the game’s final play, capping a thrilling 28-27 NU victory. Carriker closed his Nebraska home career by dominating the line of scrimmage in a 37-14 win over the Buffs. He finished the afternoon with seven total tackles, a season-high three tackles for loss and tied his career high with two sacks. Both of Carriker’s sacks resulted in nine-yard losses. His other tackle for loss came in the Colorado end zone resulting in a safety to give Nebraska a 23-14 lead in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Carriker notched his seventh sack of the season, a nine-yard first-quarter sack in the Cotton Bowl against Auburn and finished the game with four tackles.

 

2005 (Junior)
Carriker started all 12 games at the base end spot, and finished with 9.5 sacks for 84 yards and 17 tackles for loss for 96 yards. His 9.5 sacks tied for the Big 12 Conference lead and ranked 19th nationally. He also led Nebraska with 21 quarterback hurries, 10 more than any other Husker defender. Carriker’s 43 total tackles ranked seventh on the team and tied for the most among defensive linemen.

Carriker began his junior season by notching two of the Huskers’ school-record tying 11 sacks in the team’s 25-7 win over Maine. His sacks accounted for 13 yards in losses. He added another sack in Nebraska’s next win, a 31-3 decision over Wake Forest, then produced the finest game of his career during the Huskers’ 7-6 win over Pittsburgh.

Carriker proved to be a disruptive force all game against the Panthers. He tallied a career-best four tackles for loss for 26 yards and had two sacks of Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko. He made seven total tackles, while adding a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup, and earned ABC/Chevrolet Player-of-the-Game honors.

Carriker added single sacks in games against Texas Tech, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas State, before sharing a sack with Barry Cryer in the regular-season finale at Colorado. Despite the attention from opposing defenses, Carriker continued to make an impact late in the season.

He recovered his first career fumble against Kansas and made six tackles. A week later, Carriker had a career-best five quarterback hurries in Nebraska’s win over Kansas State, and added a pair of tackles for loss in the contest. He capped the regular season with a four-tackle effort at Colorado, as Nebraska posted a dominant 30-3 victory.

Carriker capped the year with one tackle in the Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan. Overall, Carriker had at least one tackle for loss in nine of 12 games and had six games with multiple tackles for loss.

2004 (Sophomore)
Carriker made a strong impression on the new Husker staff during spring practice, capped by two sacks in the spring game. After a strong offseason that included being honored as the 2004 Nebraska Lifter of the Year, Carriker was hampered for the second straight season by an ankle injury. He played in 10 games with eight starts in the 2004 campaign, and finished with 36 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and three sacks for 18 yards. Carriker added seven quarterback hurries during his sophomore season.

He opened the year as Nebraska's starter at right end and made four tackles, including a pair of sacks for 14 yards, against Western Illinois. Carriker then suffered an ankle injury against Southern Miss, forcing him to sit out the Pittsburgh game the ensuing weekend. He was slowed with the injury for much of October, accumulating just three combined tackles against Kansas, Texas Tech and Baylor.

Carriker returned to near full strength late in the season and responded in strong fashion, making 28 tackles in the season’s final five games. He had a career-high nine tackles at Kansas State, followed by five tackles and a season-high four quarterback hurries in a 24-3 win over Missouri. He added six tackles and a sack at Iowa State and five tackles at No. 2 Oklahoma.

2003 (Redshirt Freshman)
Carriker opened the 2003 season playing extensively in passing situations before injuring his ankle against Utah State in game two. He missed the next three games, before returning to action at Missouri. Carriker registered two tackles against Iowa State, then broke out against Colorado. He had three quarterback hurries against the Buffs and ended a CU drive in the third quarter with a nine-yard sack of quarterback Joel Klatt. He finished the year with three tackles and three quarterback hurries.

2002 (Redshirt)
Carriker redshirted in his first season at Nebraska.

Before Nebraska (Kennewick HS)
Carriker played quarterback and rush end for Coach Warren Hull at Kennewick High School. Carriker’s team did not win a game his senior year, but he still earned second-team All-Big 9 Conference honors on defense as a senior and played in the state all-star game. Carriker recorded 15 sacks, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles and 25 tackles for loss in his only season as a defensive end.

He was a three-year starter at quarterback and served as a team captain three years. He ran track one year and earned all-conference baseball honors three times as a designated hitter and first baseman. Academically, he was named to the Principal’s list. Carriker attended Big Red Football School in 2001, and also visited Washington State, Oregon and Oregon State before choosing the Huskers.

Personal
Carriker was born on May 6, 1984, in Hastings, Neb., his father’s hometown. Carriker moved to Kennewick, Wash., when he was three years old. Adam’s brother, Darren, lives in Hastings and most of his father’s family still resides in Nebraska. Carriker is majoring in business administration and has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Academic Honor Roll three times. Carriker has volunteered his time as part of Nebraska's hospital visitations and as a speaker during American Education Week.

Carriker's Career Statistics

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.

Tackles

.

.

Fum.

.

.

.

QB

Year

G/S

UT

AT

TT

TFL

Sacks

C-R

BK

PBU

PI

Hry.

2003

9/0

2

1

3

1-9

1-9

0-0

0

0

0

3

2004

10/8

19

17

36

7-23

3-18

0-0

0

0

0

7

2005

12/12

26

17

43

17-96

9.5-84

0-1

0

3

0

21

2006 14/14 24 28 52 16-61 7-45 0-0 1 3 1 12

Totals

45/34

71

63

134

41-189

20.5-156

0-1

1

6

1

43

2003 Alamo Bowl vs. Michigan State: Tackles, none
2005 Alamo Bowl vs. Michigan: Tackles, 1 UT, 0AT, 1TT, 2 QB Hurries
2006 Cotton Bowl vs. Auburn: Tackles, 3 UT, 1 AT, 4 TT, 1-9 TFL, 1 Sack

Single-Game Bests:
Tackles?9 at Kansas State, 2004
Solo Tackles?4, five times, most recently at Kansas, 2005
Sacks?2, four times, most recently vs. Colorado, 2006
Tackles for Loss?4-26 vs. Pittsburgh, 2005
QB Hurries?5, vs. Kansas State, 2005
Interceptions - 1, vs. Missouri, 2006