Previous broken legs solidified resolve of Miami Dolphins rookie cornerback Nolan Carroll

Only one thought raced through Nolan Carroll's mind: "Not again."

Four years earlier, Carroll's senior season at Clay High School, southwest of Jacksonville in Green Cove Springs, ended in the second game of the season when he broke his right tibia, or shin bone.

Now here he was, a senior cornerback and captain at the University of Maryland, sitting shocked and expressionless on the Byrd Stadium turf last Sept. 12, going through a painful episode of deja vu: Broken right tibia and fibula after being inadvertently leg-whipped by teammate Derek Drummond.

Again, done for the season — in just the second game of the season .

"It was right below the place where I did it in high school," said Carroll, the Dolphins rookie cornerback who had two tackles and defended a pass in Saturday's 10-7 exhibition victory over Tampa Bay. "Both freak accidents."

The first break was painful but routine. The second almost cost him his career.

"It was a pretty graphic compound fracture," said Maryland strength and conditioning coach Dwight Galt, who aided Carroll on the field. "It didn't break through the sock, but the bulge there was pretty gross. Of his 10 teammates, five of them went over there and they said, 'Oh (shoot),' and turned around and walked away because they couldn't take it."

Instead of finishing his senior season and proving to NFL scouts he was worthy of a second-round pick, Carroll was raced to Washington Adventist Hospital for emergency surgery.

"They said I wouldn't be walking without crutches until three months after," Carroll said of doctors. "They were anticipating I'd start running by late April, May."

The Terrapins, 8-5 in 2008, collapsed to 2-10 without their leader.

"It hit everybody hard," said nose tackle Travis Ivey, who is in Dolphins camp as an undrafted free agent. "I kind of snapped, because you know, he was one of our emotional leaders, someone I looked up to."

But Carroll, whose mother was a lieutenant commander in the Navy and his father a senior master sergeant in the Air Force, "never let negative thoughts enter my head," he said.

Instead, Carroll was off crutches after just 1½ months of physical therapy.

He moved to Atlanta in December to rehab and train with Chip Smith, who helped former San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst return from a similarly gruesome ankle fracture.

"He came in and absolutely attacked workouts — six days a week, religiously," Smith said of Carroll. "It was hard work, he was in pain, but he really wanted it."

Carroll didn't participate in drills at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February but he performed at Maryland's Pro Day on March 11, running the day's fastest 40-yard dash of the day, 4.39 seconds.

Still, many NFL teams were wary of drafting him. The Dolphins brought Carroll to their training facility to check him out.

"We researched the injury, very, very thoroughly," coach Tony Sparano said.

Only after getting to know him personally, Sparano said, were the Dolphins willing to "take a stab" at Carroll in the draft, selecting him in the fifth round (145th overall) with the pick they got from the 49ers in exchange for Ted Ginn Jr.

Sparano said that, "no question," the team believes it got a steal.

"Obviously, you don't know if any of these things can re-occur," Sparano said of the injury. "But from our standpoint, we felt really good when he was there for us in the fifth round."

Although Carroll (5-feet-11, 204 pounds) played just one full season at cornerback at Maryland after switching from receiver, he has worked his way into the top-five rotation at cornerback for the Dolphins and also had a 27-yard kickoff return Saturday night. With Will Allen's recent knee surgery knocking him out for several weeks, Carroll could be the team's nickel corner right away.

Carroll admitted he was "nervous" about getting hit in his first game Saturday, and still has to pinch himself to make sure that he really is in the NFL, and not dreaming.

"It was incredible, man," Carroll said after the game. "Just being here, being a part of an NFL team, it was one of those things that didn't hit me until now."

Whatever happens in his career, Carroll has earned a lot of respect in his locker room.

"Every time I see him in the cold tub," Ivey said, "I say, 'I don't know how you did it, man.' "

CES NFL Combine Coach, Pete Jenkins, works with Rams during pre-season prep

CES Defensive Line Coach, Pete Jenkins, worked with the Rams D-Line during their pre-season training camp. CES is proud to have Coach Jenkins back at our facility for the 2011 NFL Combine Training. During our 2010 Combine Training, Coach Jenkins worked diligently with our clients to improve their skill work and saw great results. He worked with Jeff Owens, D'Anthony Smith and Kade Weston- all players that are looking great this season.

Coach Pete Jenkins, known by many of his players as the Two-Gapper, has over 37 years of coaching experience. He coached in the 2009 Pro Bowl on Defense, and prior to that, he coached the Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Line. He has also led the defenses at multiple Division 1 powerhouse collegiate programs. Coach Jenkins is known for his tough work ethic but also for mentoring his players off of the field. We are very excited to have Coach Jenkins back at our facility for 2011 NFL Combine training.

Marie Spano, leading sports nutritionist, will work with CES for 2011 NFL Combine Training

Check out Marie's website: Click HERE

Marie A. Spano, MS, RD/LD, FISSN, CSCS, CSCD, is one of the country’s leading sports nutritionists. She combines science with practical experience to help Olympic, professional, and recreational athletes implement customized nutritional plans to maximize athletic performance. Also a nutrition communications expert, Spano consults with leading food, beverage, and supplement companies regarding public relations and communications.

Spano enjoys the challenge of communicating scientific information in an approachable, understandable format to a variety of audiences. She has appeared on NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS affiliates on the East Coast, and authored hundreds of magazine articles, trade publication articles, book chapters, e-zines, and marketing materials.

A three-sport collegiate athlete, Spano earned her masters in nutrition from the University of Georgia and her bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNCG), where she also ran Division I cross-country. Her experiences as a college athlete provides effective perspective to work with athletes of all levels, especially student athletes, by providing a first-hand understanding of how the demands of athletics, psychological aspects of injury, and sleep, recovery, and sound nutrition can impact an athlete’s overall well-being and performance.

Spano is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), the American Dietetic Association (ADA), International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), and Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN). She currently serves as vice president for the ISSN and is a member of the NSCA’s Nutrition Special Interest Group.

CES Client, Jared Odrick, likely to miss only two games

Previously posted BY DAVID J. NEAL DNEAL@MIAMIHERALD.COM, 9.16.10

A black cast consumed Jared Odrick's lower left leg. Between the cast and crutches, it was hard to believe the Dolphins' first-round pick could miss as few as two games with a fractured fibula.

"Don't let it fool you,'' Odrick said of the cast. "It's there for protection more than anything.''

Odrick saw Dr. Robert Alexander of Charlotte, N.C., who performed running back Ronnie Brown's lisfranc surgery last season. Sources said Alexander told Odrick he probably would miss two games.

This isn't the first time Odrick broke that fibula. As a Penn State sophomore playing Indiana in 2007, he broke it in such a way that doctors had to insert a still-present metal plate in the leg.

Odrick's absences gives Tony McDaniel a bump up to the first team and possibly a long desired doubling of McDaniel's play count. He said he got into just over 20 plays Sunday in Buffalo, N.Y.

"Last game was the most I've ever played,'' McDaniel said. "It seemed like [he played more in 2009] it because when I get out there, I make plays, but I never played more than 20 snaps."

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/16/1827301/sources-odrick-likely-to-miss.html#ixzz106BEZPGZ

Get to know CES Client Alge Crumpler

Previously posted by: Posted by Shalise Manza Young, Globe Staff September 19, 2010 08:00 AM

For all of the changes the Patriots made from last season to this, only one position was rebuilt from scratch: tight end. Veteran Alge Crumpler was the first brick in threconstruction, with the former Pro Bowler signed as a free agent in March; a month later, New England drafted two other players, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, and thus far the rebuild appears to be a success.

In the locker room, Crumpler -- his given first name, Algernon, is from his father's favorite book, "Flowers for Algernon" -- has his stall right between the two rookies, so he can keep an eye on them as much as possible, and they in turn can ask him questions as needed. The 32-year old North Carolina native has been praised by Bill Belichick and his former coach in Tennessee, Jeff Fisher, for his professionalism off the field, and on the field he's a standout run blocker (Fred Taylor calls him "a mauler") but still has the hands that helped him average 51 catches a year from 2003-07 with the Falcons.

First car: It was a Toyota Tercel...that's what my mom gave me. That was all we had left. I don't know what the problem was, but every time I stopped I had to pull the emergency brake and switch back and forth between the gas and clutch so it wouldn't shut off.

Game-day ritual: I don't have one as much anymore, like I did in high school. I just like to get to the stadium early, listen to some music, all kinds.

Favorite meal: North Carolina barbecue, something I'm not going to get anytime soon.

First job: Working at the snack bar at the Boys & Girls Club. But my first real job - I cut grass for way too cheap. They took advantage of a youngster! I made enough to get candy and gas to put in the mower. But it taught me hard work.

Last concert I attended: Alicia Keys and John Legend...that was a while ago, maybe three years ago in Atlanta. That was a good concert. I expected her to just sit there are at the piano, but she brings a lot of energy.

Favorite TV show: Entourage. Nothing else is close. I'm sure that will make [executive producer Mark Wahlberg] happy, as he's a Boston guy.

Place I'd like to visit but haven't yet: I do want to go to Europe. My wife would love to see the old-world cities. I've been to a lot of places - been to Japan, went to the Middle East on a USO tour - and (Europe) is next.

Favorite non-football athlete: (World-record holding sprinter) Usain Bolt. And (Oklahoma City's) Kevin Durant - he's a young up-and-coming star. He's mature beyond his years; he's a good player.

CES Client, Andrew Quarless, Younger Talent for Green Bay Packers

Previously posted By
Greg Blohowia (Contributor) on September 6, 2010, bleacherreport.com

Andrew Quarless: Rookie Tight End who has shown flashes of what to expect is an exciting player who has extreme potential. Having comparisons to Jermichael Finley, Quarless is a bigger receiving TE (6'4" 252) who can provide the Packers with a dual threat in the two tight end sets, not to mention in the red zone. I can see the Packers straying away from veteran Donald Lee in passing downs to create larger mismatches with opposing defenses. Donald Lee is a very solid pass and run blocker however with the emergence of Finley and the number of weapons on the offense it never hurts to add another.