Carlson Grabs First Career Touchdown
Former Notre Dame TE John Carlson hauled in his first career professional touchdown yesterday in the Seahawks 27-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Carlson has been a starter for the Seahawks all season and has been one of the only reliable receiving threats for a Seahawks teams whose receiving corps has been decimated by injuries this year.
Here’s how the Seattle Times described Carlson’s first career TD.
Carlson, touchdown: No sooner did this blog publish a joke about rookie tight end John Carlson evaporating from the playbook, and he hauls in the first touchdown catch of his career.
It was a heck of a playcall, a play-action fake by Charlie Frye, who then rolled out as if it were a bootleg. Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga was right there, closing in on Frye and he lobbed a pass to a wide open John Carlson who dove into the end zone despite a pretty stiff hit from cornerback Charles Woodson. Safety Aaron Rouse was also at the goal line.
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On the season, Carlson has 16 catches for 190 yards and 1 TD in 5 games. Fairly modest numbers on the surface, but when you consider Seattle’s injury problems at wide receiver and quarterback (Matt Hasslebeck missed Sunday’s game) making things tougher on Carlson they aren’t too shabby at all. At his current rate, Carlson is on pace for 51 catches, 608 yards, and 3 TDs.
Fasano Excelling Too. Carlson isn’t the only former Notre Dame TE having a good year either. Anthony Fasano is on pace for a very good season in his first year with the Dolphins. Fasano is on pace for 48 catches, 669 yards, and 6 TDs. As is, Fasano has already set career highs in catches, yards, and touchdowns now that is out from behind Jason Witten’s shadow.
It’s nice to see Carlson and Fasano both experiencing success with the Seahawks and Dolphins and their success should only help the Irish in terms tight end recruiting.
UPDATE: Jeff found some video of the play on YouTube.
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Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
It is a shame that the Seahawks are not a better season but it would help if they utilized the TE spot more in the playbook.