Larger text
Smaller text
Trib HS Insider Q&A: Thomas Jefferson’s Joe Carroll
• Ambridge, North Allegheny defend WPIAL volleyball championships
• Seton-La Salle, Mt. Lebanon win WPIAL boys lacrosse titles
• After blowing big lead, Shaler girls rally to win lacrosse title
• Unlikely hero leads Greensburg Salem softball in postseason
By Keith Barnes
Published: Thursday, October 18, 2012, 1:31 a.m.
Updated: Friday, March 29, 2013
It's a bit of a stretch to say all Joe Carroll does is throw touchdowns, but not by much. The Thomas Jefferson senior quarterback, in his first year as a starter, has flipped the switch on the Jaguars offense from a grind-it-out run-first clock eater into a high-octane scoring machine.
In seven games this season, Carroll has thrown for a WPIAL-leading 28 touchdowns, has thrown at least five on four different occasions, including a six-touchdown performance Sept. 21 against Trinity, and is five away from the school's single season record of 33 set by Tyler Wehner in 2008.
Q: Considering you're a first-year starter, did you expect to put up the kind of numbers you have this year?
A: I expected to do well. I expected to play well and put up some good numbers, but when I went out in my first game and threw five touchdowns, I was like, “whoa.”
Q: Are you going to break the single-season touchdown record this week at Uniontown?
A: There's a chance I will, but we're just going to go out and execute and see what happens.
Q: How has your relationship been with your receivers?
A: We work hard to get on the same page and know what we're going to use that week. And, in the games, I have to make sure that they see what I see.
Q: Do they make you look good, or do you make them look good?
A: I guess it goes both ways sometimes. There are times I'll just throw one out there, and they'll go up and catch the ball, and sometimes they'll just make the play.
Q: How do you react when you know that the coaching staff wants to establish the running game a bit more?
A: We've got to get the running game going when we get to the playoffs and the week we play West Mifflin (Oct. 26) because we have to slow teams up from blitzing us. If we become one-dimensional, then people can stop us, and if we have that two-dimensional offense, it will be harder to stop the team.
Q: How do you avoid looking past Uniontown and to that game with West Mifflin?
A: We're just going to fine-tune everything and stay healthy so that we're nice and crisp going into next week.
Q: How much motivation are you going to have going into that game, considering West Mifflin ended your 37-game conference winning streak?
A: I wasn't playing a lot last year, but a lot of those guys are back, and I know they want to get back at them for ending our conference winning streak last year.
Most Popular Stories
- Penguins notebook: Cup final will host NHL awards
- Letang dazzles with dynamic play in Game 5 win
- Penguins rout Senators, return to Eastern Conference final
- Senators boxed in by penalties
- Penguins’ fans as young as five months brave cold to watch Game 5
- NHL commissioner Bettman talks Crosby, Olympics, outdoor games
- Pirates notebook: Bucs shut down injured Karstens
- Steelers hope new blocking scheme kick-starts running game
- Aid group attacked by Taliban, leading to street battle in Kabul
- Senators notebook: MacLean puts onus on veterans
- Court upholds most ‘kids for cash’ judge’s convictions
You must be signed in to add comments
To comment, click the Sign in or sign up at the very top of this page.
Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.
