The Rams got their man in the first round of this years draft. Carriker will come in and be an iunstant starter most likely and he will help out on an improving defense.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Rams Select Fry After trading down and out of the 4th round, the Rams used their newly aquired 5tf round pick, 139th overall, to select center/guard, Dustin Fry from Clemson. Fry is a big, stong, powerful guy. He picks up the blitz well. Rams may keep him and work him into the system slowly for the future.
Bio From NFL.com
Dustin Fry Height: 6-2 Weight: 326 Position: Center College: Clemson
OVERVIEW The all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection was the anchor for the Tigers' front wall ever since taking over full-time center duties as a sophomore. With his low center of gravity, girth and squat frame, Fry has made it a habit of putting defenders on their pants, registering 171 knockdowns while manning the pivot. Much of the team's success running with the football is because of Fry's dominance in the middle, where more than 60 percent of the Tigers' ground yardage was attained in 2006. The hard-nose drive blocker helped elevate the team's rushing attack to fifth in the nation with 217.85 yards per game, a far cry from the Tigers' 100th place ranking during Fry's sophomore season in 2004 (team averaged 107.55 yards that year). Fry played under legendary head coach John McKissick (only coach in high school, college or professional history to win more than 500 games in a career) at Summerville High School. He earned All-American honors from SuperPrep, CBSSportsline.com and Max Emfinger, adding all-state, all-area and all-region accolades as a senior. He also picked up all-Lowcountry honors in three sports -- football, wrestling and track and field. Fry started at offensive guard and tackle during his career. He recorded 80 knockdown blocks as a senior, grading better than 80 percent for blocking consistency in every game. He was rated as one of the top four football prospects in the state of South Carolina and played in the Shrine Bowl after his final season. In wrestling, Fry captured the state Class AA championship as a junior. He finished second in the state finals in the shot put his junior campaign and was named Post & Courier Lowcountry Male Athlete of the Year. In 2002, Fry enrolled at Clemson; he chose the Tigers over Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina. He competed as a center on the scout team and retained freshman eligibility. The following year, Fry collected 12 knockdown blocks and earned his first career start against North Carolina. Fry continued to play behind Tommy Sharpe at center in 2004. He saw action in 10 games, sitting out the season opener against Wake Forest while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He finished the 2004 season with 18 knockdown blocks. The following season was his first as a full-time starter. Fry was a first-team all-state pick by Orangeburg Touchdown Club and winner of the Solid Rock Award from the coaching staff among offensive linemen. He graded 83 percent for blocking consistency and registered 72½ knockdowns in 820 plays. Fry was named all-Atlantic Coast Conference second-team in 2006. He participated in 666 plays, made 68½ knockdowns and was called by the coaching staff the main reason for the team's offensive prowess. The Tigers led the conference and ranked 15th nationally with 410.92 yards per game in total offense, ranked fifth in the nation in rushing (217.85 ypg) and ranked 12th in the Division I-A ranks with 32.89 points per game. The most important figure was the protection Fry and his fellow linemen afforded the Clemson backfield. After ranking 61st in the nation by allowing 2.63 sacks per game in 2005, the front wall ranked sixth in the country and led the ACC in 2006, giving up only 1.15 sacks per game. Fry wound up starting 26 of his 46 games. He saw action in 2,192 plays and registered 171 knockdown blocks. ANALYSIS Positives: Lacks muscle tone, but has good overall body thickness, long arms, natural strength, round midsection, thick hips, thighs and calves and big bubble. … Has good knee bend and balance for a player with his girth, showing good quickness firing off the snap to block in space. … Has adequate foot movement in his kick slide and does a good job of mirroring the defender in one-on-one action. … Plays with a nasty streak and likes to use his hand punch to shock and jolt. … Made good strides as a senior to improve his marginal hand placement, appearing to be more active shooting and recoiling his hands with force. … Uses his leg drive to wall off and turn the defender while maintaining position, doing a nice job of coming off the snap to reach the interior defender. … Gets out of his stance nicely, generating good explosion to generate movement off the snap for the running game, showing functional quickness in the short area. … Uses his hands properly to set, pop and stop the bull rush charge, and learned in 2006 how to use his body mass to deliver more force behind his blocks. … Despite his girth, he demonstrates decent knee bend and flexibility, staying low in his anchor. … Plays flat-footed, making good body adjustments in his lateral slide and rolls his hips and punches with his hands to drive the defender off the ball. … Very effective at bumping the defensive tackle, climbing into the short area and redirecting to hit and land on targets in space. … Tough lineman who will compete and challenge defenders. … Smart and very instinctive, making all of the calls at the line, rarely making any assignment mistakes. … Hard worker in the weight room whose 500-pound bench press ranks among the all-time best by a Clemson player. … Has the leg base to keep his balance dropping back in pass protection (will get jerked forward by a defender when he gets too tall in his stance, though). … Does a nice job of incline blocking, adjusting to stunts on the move. Negatives: Inconsistent getting to the second level, lacking the sustained speed. Tends to get top heavy, crossing his feet and narrowing his base to make it easy for defenders to pull him down to the ground. … While he has a good hand punch, he will overextend, causing him to not sustain blocks for long. … Relies more on strength; he is not known for getting position and finessing his man. … Trips over his feet trying to get out to neutralize the linebackers. … Has an effective hand jolt, but will still revert to catching the defender rather than rocking him back at times. … Must learn to play at a lower pad level; he gets too upright in his stance. … Can handle defenders one-on-one, but is susceptible to the speed move. … Good on the short pull, but struggles to locate linebackers; he tends to keep his head down moving up field. … Has improved his hand placement, but needs to reset them quicker in order to defeat counter moves. Compares To: Richie Incognito, St. Louis -- Like Incognito, Fry plays with a lot of aggression. He is not the most sound-blocking technician (he is still learning proper hand technique), but has the strength and hand punch to shock and jolt defenders with consistency. He is very quick firing off the ball to lock on to the 1 tech defender working inside, but outside of the short pull, he doesn't have the foot speed to be effective blocking in the second level. He compensates for a lack of ideal quickness with brute strength, but when he gets too high in his stance, he can be walked back into the pocket, evident by his struggles holding off the bull rush in Senior Bowl practices. INJURY REPORT 2002: Granted a medical hardship while recovering from a dislocated right kneecap. 2004: Underwent arthroscopic left shoulder surgery (1/04/04) after the 2003 season. … The injury would force him to miss the season opener vs. Wake Forest. 2005: Underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery in January. AGILITY TESTS Campus: 5.27 in the 40-yard dash. … 500-pound bench press. … Bench presses 225 pounds 42 times. … 655-pound squat. … 410-pound hang clean. … 27-inch vertical jump. … 7-foot-6 broad jump. … 32 3/8-inch arm length. … 9¾-inch hands. … Right-handed. HIGH SCHOOL Attended Summerville (S.C.) High School, playing football for legendary head coach John McKissick. … Earned All-American honors from SuperPrep, CBSSportsline.com and Max Emfinger, adding all-state, all-area and all-region accolades as a senior. … Also picked up all-Lowcountry honors in three sports -- football, wrestling and track and field. … Started at offensive guard and tackle during his career. … Recorded 80 knockdown blocks as a senior, grading over 80 percent for blocking consistency in every game. … Rated as one of the top four football prospects in the state of South Carolina and played in the Shrine Bowl after his final season. … In wrestling, Fry captured the state Class AA championship as a junior. … Finished second in the state finals in the shot put his junior year and was named Post & Courier Lowcountry Male Athlete-of-the-Year. PERSONAL Sports Management major. … Born Dustin W. Fry on 10/03/83. … Resides in Summerville, S.C.
