Dr. Gregg Carr Elected to CFB Hall of Fame

The following biography for Dr. Gregg Carr was produced by the National Football Foundation. It was displayed, and copied from, the Auburn football website.

The heart of the Auburn defense in the early 1980s, Gregg Carr established himself as a hard-hitting and instinctive linebacker with game-changing playmaking abilities. The Birmingham, Alabama, native now becomes the ninth Auburn player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.

A consensus First Team All-American in 1984, Carr was Auburn's leading tackler as a sophomore (125 tackles), junior (136) and the second leading tackler as a senior (139). A two-time First Team All-SEC selection and 1984 SEC Lineman of the Year, Carr amassed 453 career tackles, currently ranking him second in school history. His career totals include 289 solo tackles, which also rank second in the school record books, and nine sacks. His 139 total tackles as a senior rank eighth in school annals for a single season.

Playing for College Football Hall of Fame coach Pat Dye, Carr helped the Tigers to a 34-14 record, a SEC title and victories in the 1982 Tangerine Bowl, the 1984 Sugar Bowl and the 1984 Liberty Bowl. His sophomore season, the Tigers beat archrival Alabama for the first time in ten years, handing Hall of Fame Coach Bear Bryant the final loss of his career. His junior season, the Tigers claimed the 1983 SEC title, the school's first conference crown since 1957. Auburn finished ranked No. 14 in 1982, No. 3 in 1983 and No. 14 in 1984 during Carr's run with the Tigers.

Carr, the 1984 team captain, also excelled in the classroom, boasting a 3.22 GPA in civil engineering. His combined academic and athletic accomplishments earned an NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award and recognition as an Academic All-American and as one the NCAA's Top Five Student-Athletes.

Drafted in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh, Carr played four seasons with the Steelers. He graduated from the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Medicine in 1994, and he is currently an orthopedic surgeon in Birmingham.

Carr was inducted into the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, he was selected as a recipient of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award as well as being honored as an SEC Legend.

2024, Nov. 23rd: "HISTORY!: Golden Bears get first NCAA D2 playoff win!"

In light of Head Coach Sam Shade's departure from Miles for the same position at Alabama A&M, let's look back at his last victory at the helm of the Golden Bears, since it was a historic one. 

Hosting its first-ever NCAA Division II playoff game, the Golden Bears leaned on a stifling defense...in a 14-13 win over Carson-Newman (9-3) in the opening round of the NCAA Super Region Two playoffs Saturday at Sloan-Alumni Stadium. The win was the first in the postseason for No. 22 Miles (10-2), which set a school record for wins in a season and extended the single-season school mark with its 10th consecutive victory.

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Carson-Newman was out of timeouts and Miles was looking to run down the clock. The Golden Bears faced a third-and-7 at their own 45-yard line. Jonero Scott, who had already scored a touchdown and finished with a team-high 48 yards on the ground, was looking to get a first down to effectively end the game. Even if he didn't make the line to gain, Miles could have pinned the Eagles deep with less than 10 seconds to go, making a victory seem inevitable.

Unfortunately, Scott coughed up the ball and the Eagles recovered at the Miles 41 with 1:01 to go. The celebratory mood on the sideline quickly changed. The defense had to get another stop and had little margin for error as Carson-Newman had a kicker that had range from nearly 50 yards and had just missed from that distance in the third quarter, hitting the cross bar.

But Miles stepped up to the challenge. After an incomplete pass on first down, the Golden Bears got pressure on Eagles quarterback Zane Whitson, who lofted a pass into the wind against double coverage. That's trouble against any team, even more so against one that leads the nation in turnovers gained and second in interceptions. This time, Malachi Oglen got his first interception of the season, bringing a sense of relief to the Golden Bears sideline and reigniting the celebratory feelings that had temporarily been erased.

Miles never trailed in the contest. On their second drive, the Golden Bears used a methodical 13-play drive that chewed up more than six minutes off the clock. The team converted on four third down plays, one coming on a big pass interference penalty, the other coming when quarterback Kamren Ivory found Jaquel Fells in the end zone for an 11-yard scoring toss to give Miles a 7-0 lead.

Photo by Adrenaline Shots

...C-N finished with 179 yards on the ground, almost 100 yards below its season average. Still, they were able to even the score when Jayden Sullins punched one in from two yards out on the third play of the second quarter.

The Golden Bears were hardly able to get their offense on track, mustering season lows in rushing yards (69), total yards (153), total offensive plays (53), and first downs (10). But the defense continued to do its thing, which led to an opportunistic second score.

Carson-Newman quarterback Justin Johnson appeared to have converted a first down on a 12-yard run on third-and-8. But Jeremiah Hudson-Davis (game-high nine tackles) popped the Eagles starting quarterback and defensive lineman Keith Green (four tackles, 1/2 sack) recovered (a fumble) at the C-N 34. It was the Golden Bears' 11th fumble recovery of the season - second in Division II - and Green's third, which is tied for the national lead in Division II. He returned it to the Eagles 22 which set the Golden Bears up with a short field.

Miles leads Division II in turnover margin (plus-23) and that became the difference on the scoreboard.  Ivory hit Travaunta Abner (game-high four catches, 36 yards) - a Carson-Newman transfer - with a 19-yard pass before Scott finished the drive with a 5-yard run for a 14-7 advantage with 4:09 left before halftime. The Eagles got a field goal at the horn but the Golden Bears went into the break ahead 14-10, making it 10 straight games that they have held a halftime lead.

The 10 (games) is also the length of the streak in which Miles had not trailed in the second half. But the Eagles had a couple of opportunities to end that stretch of success. On the opening drive of the second half, Carson-Newman attempted a 50-yard field goal but kicker Bennett Smith hit the crossbar and the attempt fell short. On the final drive of the third quarter, the Eagles traversed deep into Miles territory, setting up first-and-goal at the 5. But William Hardy (eight tackles, two tackles for loss) got a tackle for loss on the first play before a sack by JaMichael Rogers - his team-high eighth of the season - forced the Eagles to settle for a 29-yard field goal to preserve the lead.

Photography Credit

Alabama A&M Formally Introduces Sam Shade as Head Football Coach

Wow, it appears it has been longer than I realized since I last looked in on the various Alabama-based schools. I was not aware of this hire. Good for Coach Shade, this will make A&M very interesting to watch this fall. 

What follows is an abbreviated version of the press release issued January 6th. 

Photo credit unavailable

Alabama A&M University President Dr. Daniel K. Wims and Director of Athletics Dr. Paul A. Bryant welcomed new AAMU head football coach Sam Shade during an introductory press conference on Monday morning at the AAMU Event Center. 

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Shade is a winner at every level, from high school to college, having led Pinson Valley High School to a State Championship in 2020 and Miles College to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) crown in 2024. 

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Over the past three seasons at Miles, Shade compiled an 18-15 overall record and a 15-7 mark inside the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). In addition, his 2024 team won the conference title and reached the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, falling to top-ranked Valdosta State in the second round. 

In 2023, the Golden Bears finished 7-3 overall, 6-2 in the SIAC. The season included the program's first win over Division I FCS opponent Alabama State and a 9.2 average margin of victory. It was a marked improvement over his first season in Fairfield, where Miles went 1-9 overall, 1-5 in the SIAC Western Division.  

Shade came to Miles after spending two years as head football coach at Pinson Valley High School, where he won an Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A state championship in his first season in 2020.

Prior to coaching, Shade played eight years in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals (1995-98) and Washington Redskins (1999-02). He was the Bengals' leading tackler in 1997 while ranking second on the team in 1998, and then he led the Redskins in 1999. 

During his NFL career, his defensive coordinators included NFL Hall of Fame coach Dick LeBeau as well as Mike Nolan, Ray Rhodes and Marvin Lewis. In April 2000, Shade received the Redskins' Unsung Hero Award for commitment and community service involvement.

Shade played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of the Crimson Tide's 1992 national championship team and was named a team captain as a senior in 1994. He was selected by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL Draft.

Following his retirement from the NFL, Shade began his coaching career as a volunteer coach at Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Ala., from 2004-08 before spending eight years at Samford, coaching the secondary and special teams. He would then move to Georgia State, where he coached cornerback. His career would send him back to the NFL as an assistant special teams coach for the Cleveland Browns before returning home to coach at Pinson Valley.

Shade is a Birmingham native who attended Wenonah High School, where he was the recipient of the prestigious Bryant Jordan Scholar Athlete Award, given to the state's top student-athlete. He earned his bachelor's degree from Alabama in business administration and finance.