Tim Carey: ‘I Couldn’t Have Picked a Better School’

Tim Carey set dozens of passing records his senior season while leading Los Alamitos to the Southern Section Division II championship game.

He broke nearly every school record and his 3,397 passing yards rank second on Orange County’s all-time single-season list.

But there’s one statistic about Carey you’ll never find in a record book: His Nov. 17 commitment to Stanford was one of the earliest for a county football player. The commitment came 11 weeks before the national signing day.

Carey was one of the nation’s most sought-after players, receiving more than 600 letters from 40 universities in a little more than a year.

He chose Stanford over USC, California, Colorado and Washington State for several reasons, among them the school’s strong academics. But the opportunity to play for Cardinal Coach Bill Walsh made Stanford Carey’s top choice.

Carey kept a journal throughout the season and recruiting process. Excerpts from it follow.

Oct. 10--I attended the USC-Oregon games and sat with several other USC recruits, including Esperanza’s Travis Kirschke. There was only one other player whom I recognized, a quarterback from South Pasadena that I had met at a camp. I saw a lot of people I had heard about and read about. After the game, we went down on the field and talked with the coaches.

Week of Oct. 17--Phone calls. I averaged about two or three a night. Michigan called to see how the season was going and asked for game film. Recruiting coordinator coach Rob Ianello called from Wisconsin. He told me they were a program on the rise, and I should come to a place I could help bring a program up instead of playing for an established program.

At the beginning, I liked USC and Colorado a lot, but then Stanford became my favorite. I didn’t tell any of the other schools recruiting me that, just in case something caused me to go another direction.

Oct. 29--It’s the week of the Big Game against Esperanza (Los Alamitos was second-ranked in Orange County, Esperanza was ranked No. 1; both teams were undefeated). I wasn’t home to get phone calls from USC’s Larry Smith and Colorado’s Bill McCartney. Coach Mike Sheppard called from Cal to wish our team luck against Esperanza. Miami assistant coach Rich Olson called, introduced himself and wanted me to know the Hurricanes were interested.

Oct. 30--Game Day. USC’s Larry Smith called before I left for school to wish us luck in the big game. He called from the Coliseum, where he was running laps. I appreciate the calls. It feels good to know that the college coaches care about the recruits’ seasons as well as their own.

Coach (John) Barnes told us (a) muddy field would help us. We had a good week of practice and we felt confident going in.

(Los Alamitos beat Esperanza, 34-14, before 8,000 fans at Valencia High. It rained most of the day before the game, and the field was a muddy mess after a junior varsity game was played. Carey played well despite the slippery conditions, completing 10 of 20 passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns).

The thing I’ll remember most about that game was Marchant Wright’s touchdown run up the middle. It was on a blitz. That pretty much put Esperanza away.

It was a great feeling afterward. A lot of people had doubted us coming in, but nobody on our team did.

And I was glad I could tell the (college) coaches that we beat Esperanza. It was one of the biggest games of my life, one I’ll never forget.

Nov. 1--Coaches from Washington State and Michigan called to see how the game went. So did Coach Scott Schuhmann from Stanford, who also told me offensive coordinator Terry Shea would be down Thursday to watch our game against Katella.

Nov. 5--I saw Shea on the sideline before the game. We couldn’t talk to each other because it would have violated NCAA rules. I thought I would be nervous before the game, but I wasn’t.

(Los Alamitos beat Katella, 45-0. Carey completed 22 of 32 passes for 295 yards and three first-half touchdowns).

Nov. 8--Academics. Coach Schuhmann called and said the Stanford admissions office could have an answer on my acceptance by the 10th, and will call back by next week.

Hopefully, I’ll be accepted. It would be a load off my back.

Nov. 17--Coach Schuhmann called before I left for school to let me know Coach Walsh would be calling me tonight. I thought they were going to offer. I was anxious to get home and get the call.

Coach Walsh called about 6 p.m. and offered a scholarship, and I committed. I was overwhelmed with excitement. Nobody was home when the call came. I told my family when they got home.

I’m happy about my decision. I couldn’t have picked a better school. I’m glad I got the recruiting over with, but I don’t think I hurried my decision at all.

Nov. 18--UCLA assistant coach Homer Smith called and asked if I wanted to go to a UCLA game that weekend. But I told him the news and thanked him for recruiting me. I called the other schools recruiting me--Washington State, USC and Colorado--and told them I had committed to Stanford.

I called Washington State right away and thanked them. Then I left messages at Colorado and USC. Breaking the news to them was kind of hard. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but it had to be done. The other schools had stopped calling.

Nov. 20--Southern Section Division II playoffs begin. I only get a call a week now (from Stanford). It hadn’t been a big deal, but it does give me more time. I have more time to concentrate on football.

Dec. 12--Southern Section Division II finals. The rematch with Esperanza ended in a 14-14 tie.

It was pretty scary before the game, because it was a lot like last year (Los Alamitos beat Esperanza in the Division III title game). Esperanza beat us in league last year and they came into the finals overconfident. We didn’t want that to happen to us. We knew we were in for a game.

After the game, there wasn’t much feeling at all. The stadium was dead. Even though we were champs, I wished we could have been solo champs. I was disappointed.

The next day, I saw Kirschke at an awards breakfast. It was weird--one moment, a guy is trying to kill you, and the next day he’s talking to you. I never talked to him until after the last game. I asked him about UCLA, which was his favorite. (Kirschke committed to the Bruins later that week).

Jan. 1--I thought about the firing (forced resignation) of USC’s Larry Smith, and I’m happy that I’m coming into a situation at Stanford where a coaching change is very unlikely.

Stanford did a great job in the Blockbuster Bowl, beating Penn State, 24-3.

I can’t wait to be a part of that team. It’s a program on the rise and will be seeing Rose Bowl berths in the future.