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SoCal linebacker packs a punch

Linebacker Donovan Carter (6-2, 212, 4.6) from Lake Balboa (Calif.) Birmingham supplied a lot of the punch for a team that won the City Championship in 2006.
Carter is a sideline to sideline player who packs a wallop. He earned first-team all-city, first-team all-area and first-team all-league from his linebacker spot.
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Not bad for a guy who was playing his first season at the linebacker position. Carter led his team in tackles with 128 stops. He also accounted for six quarterback hurries, 5.5 sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery.
Carter showed off his speed on his interception as he returned it 68 yards for a touchdown against a pretty speedy Los Angeles (Calif.) Locke team.
"Donovan is a plug linebacker who can cover the back coming out of the backfield," Birmingham coach Ed Croson said. "He can fill and he can cover. Donovan can do it all."
"Donovan has tremendous upside," Croson said. "He is just beginning to hit the weights. He will easily get up 240 when all is said and done.
"Donovan has great instincts and is a very hard hitter," Croson said. "When he hits you, he finishes it. He's wired that way.
"Donovan reminds me of (former Miami Hurricane and now New York Jet) Jonathan Vilma," Croson said. "When Donovan hits you, he goes right through you.
"Ask Milton Knox our running back who is probably the best player in the City section, what was the toughest game he played in last year and he will say our Blue and Gold game," Croson said. "That is our scrimmage the week before our opening game and the reason he would say that is he was playing against Donovan and he was giving Milton all sorts of trouble."
"I just think that Donovan is going to get so much better," Croson said. "It is hard to imagine that last year was his first year at linebacker and he was sensational. The sky is the limit for Donovan.
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