Shante Carver (born February 12, 1971) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He also was a member of the

Memphis Maniax The Memphis Maniax were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was part of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. Home games were playe ...

and

Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional arena football team based in Dallas, Texas. The Desperados played in the Eastern Division of the Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008. The franchise began play in as an expansion team, and have post ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Early years

Carver attended Lincoln High School, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

(

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

) and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

(

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

), receiving All-state honors as a senior in both sports. As a senior, he tallied 33 tackles, 5 sacks and 20 receptions for 452 yards. In basketball, he posted 21 and 24 rebounds in consecutive games. The Stockton Record named him its Male Athlete of the year and he also received the California Grid-Hoops player of the year award.

College career

Carver accepted a football scholarship from

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

freshman, he was named a starter at

and became one of the best pass rushers in the nation. He registered 48 tackles (11 for loss), 10 sacks (school record for freshman), 14 quarterback pressures and 4 passes defensed. As a sophomore, he was dismissed from the school, for academic reasons, and he lost his mother to a terrible car crash as well as his grandmother (natural causes) all in a couple of months. Carver overcame all the setbacks and personal loss and was later admitted back into Arizona State University as a student athlete. He collected 39 tackles (16 for loss), 11 sacks, 20 quarterback pressures and 6 passes defensed. As a junior, he tallied 59 tackles (13 for loss), 10 sacks, 27 quarterback pressures, 2 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Carver had a dominant senior season in which the defensive unit was nicknamed "Shante's Inferno". He led the team in tackles (79), tackles for loss (17), sacks (10.0) and quarterback pressures (25). He also had 4 passes defensed and 3 fumble recoveries. He was a four-year starter, that recorded double-figure sacks in each of his collegiate seasons, had 20-or-more

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

pressures and was named the team defensive MVP, in all but his freshman year. He was a two-time All-American and All-Pac-10 and a finalist for the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

. His athletic ability also allowed him to walk-on to the

team during the 1992–93 season, playing in 9 contests, while averaging 0.4 points and 0.8 rebounds per game. Carver finished his college career with 225 tackles, 41 sacks (school record), 86 quarterback pressures (school record), 57 tackles for loss, 16 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 5 blocked kicks. Most of his school records were broken by

Terrell Suggs Terrell Raymonn Suggs (born October 11, 1982), nicknamed "T-Sizzle", is an American former professional outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona State, and was recognized as a unanimous A ...

in 2002. In 2012, he was inducted into the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Looking for a successor to replace Charles Haley and Tony Tolbert in the 1994 NFL Draft, the

tried to trade up to acquire

Willie McGinest William Lee McGinest Jr. (born December 11, 1971) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at USC and was select ...

. After being unable to make the transaction, they traded their first (#28-

William Floyd William Floyd (December 17, 1734 – August 4, 1821) was an American Founding Father, wealthy farmer, and political leader from New York. Floyd served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Continental Association and ...

) and second-round (#62-

Tyronne Drakeford Tyronne James Drakeford (born June 21, 1971) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and Washington Redskins. He played college football at Virgi ...

) selections to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, in exchange for a first (#23) and a seventh round (#217-

Rob Holmberg Robert Anthony Holmberg (born June 5, 1971) is a former American football linebacker who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Rob played High School football for Mt. Pleasant Area School, located in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylva ...

) draft choice, in order to move up and take Carver in the first round. As a rookie, he played in 10 games because of injuries, finishing with 5 tackles (one for loss). He also made news after suffering an automobile accident, abandoning his truck and reporting it as stolen. In

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, he did not have a good regular season, making 21 tackles (one for loss), 2.5 sacks, 3 quarterback pressures and one pass defensed. While Haley was injured, he started the season finale and 2 playoff games. He also contributed as a backup in Super Bowl XXX, with a then career-high 5 tackles. In 1996, the Cowboys drafted Kavika Pittman to have a replacement ready in case his lack of production continued. Carver was suspended six games for repeated violations of the league's anti-drug policy. He started the final 7 games of the regular season and both playoff contests in place of an injured Haley, while registering 33 tackles (one for loss), 3 sacks, 8 quarterback pressures, one pass defensed and one forced fumble. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, he finished with 47 tackles (ninth on the team) 6 sacks (led the team), 9 quarterback pressures (second on the team), 3 tackles for loss and 3 passes defensed. The Cowboys did not re-sign him at the end of the season, finishing his career with 26 starts in four seasons, 11.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

B.C. Lions (CFL)

On May 26,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, he signed with the

B.C. Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He was released on June 29.

Memphis Maniax (XFL)

In 2001, he was selected by the

in the 23rd round (179th overall) of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

Draft, for the league's lone season. After recording 32 tackles 4 sacks and 1 interception, he was recognized as one of the best defensive players and was named to the All-XFL team. He also is remembered for delivering a particularly spectacular sack on

Orlando Rage The Orlando Rage was an American football team based in Orlando, Florida as part of the XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. History The team's colors were sc ...

Jeff Brohm Jeffrey Scott Brohm (born April 24, 1971) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current head football coach of the Louisville Cardinals. Brohm played college football at the University of Louisville for coach Howard Sc ...

Dallas Desperados (AFL)

On November 26,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, Carver signed with the

who were owned by

Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones (born October 13, 1942) is an American businessman who has been the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) since February 1989. Early life Jones was born in Los Ange ...

(who also owned the

), after the

folded. He earned

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

All-Rookie honors after registering 16 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 2 interceptions. He played for the team three years, retiring at the end of the 2004 season.

Personal life

Carver was a

assistant coach at

Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Community College is a public community college in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is on the eastern boundary of the city on 160 acres (650,000 m2) of land belonging to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The lease was taken out i ...

from 2005 to 2007. In 2009, he was named he head coach for the semi pro football team Westside Monsoon in the Arizona Football League. In 2011, he coached the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

Moon Valley High School Moon Valley High School is a public high school in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, and is a part of the Glendale Union High School District, which opened in 1965. Moon Valley is one of Arizona's leading educational establishments and is an exce ...

References

External links

Memphis Maniax profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, Shante 1971 births Living people American football defensive ends American men's basketball players Arizona State Sun Devils football players Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Dallas Cowboys players Dallas Desperados players Memphis Maniax players Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes football coaches High school football coaches in Arizona All-American college football players Players of Canadian football from Stockton, California Players of American football from Stockton, California Centers (basketball) Basketball players from Stockton, California