Vernon Carey
Encyclopedia
Vernon A. Carey is an American football
offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins
of the National Football League
. He was drafted by the Dolphins 19th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at the University of Miami
.
and basketball
at Miami Northwestern High School
in Miami, Florida. He did not allow a sack during his junior and senior seasons, and was named as a Parade
and USA Today
first-team All-America
pick as a senior. He also earned first team Class 6A All-State honors, and helped guide Northwestern to the Florida
Class 6A state title.
He played in eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2000. As a sophomore, Carey played in every game including one start, when he stepped in for injured left tackle Bryant McKinnie
for the season finale against Virginia Tech. He started all 12 games at right offensive tackle as a junior, collecting eight touchdown
-resulting blocks and 79 key blocks (42 pancakes). For his efforts, he was named as a second-team All-Big East Conference
selection. He started 11 games as a senior, moving to left guard in spring drills after starting at right tackle as a junior. As a senior, he was named as a third-team All-America choice by the Associated Press
and College Football News
. He also earned second-team All-Big East Conference honors from the media. Carey led the Hurricanes in key blocks (knockdowns/pancakes) as both a junior and senior.
. He was the third offensive lineman selected, behind only Iowa
offensive tackle Robert Gallery
(2nd, Oakland Raiders
) and Arkansas
offensive guard Shawn Andrews
(16th, Philadelphia Eagles
). The Dolphin signed Carey to a five-year, $8.6 million deal. Carey earned $6.3 million in total salary in his first year.
Carey was tried at both tackle and guard during training camp his rookie season. He went on to play in 14 games, including two starts. The first of his NFL career came when he opened at right tackle in place of the injured John St. Clair
(ankle) at the New England Patriots
on October 10. He also opened at that spot the following week at the Buffalo Bills
. Carey struggled at times during his rookie campaign, but showed enough promise to be a solid starter in the near future.
after Week 6. Carey was part of a line that yielded just 26 sacks—the fourth-lowest total in the NFL—and led a running game that averaged 118.6 yards an outing and 4.3 yards per rush attempt, which ranked seventh and fourth in the AFC
. He took part in all but one offensive snap over the final 11 weeks of the season.
, Coach Cam Cameron
announced that Carey is now the team's starting left tackle.
as the number one pick, Carey was moved to the right tackle spot where started all 16 games in 2008. According to profootballfocus.com, Carey was rated the 7th best tackle in the NFL. He only yielded 6 sacks during the entire season with 6 QB hits and 13 QB pressures.
Carey gave up only 4 sacks in 2009.
. Growing up, the Miami Dolphins
was his favorite sports team and Reggie White
was his favorite athlete, Carey lists "Martin
" as favorite television show, Biggie Smalls as favorite recording artist and The Bible as favorite book. He holds a B.A.
in liberal arts from Miami.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was drafted by the Dolphins 19th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft
2004 NFL Draft
The 2004 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
.
Early years
Carey lettered in footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
at Miami Northwestern High School
Miami Northwestern High School
Miami Northwestern Senior High School is a public high school located in Miami, Florida, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. It serves the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami. The school colors are Old Gold and Royal Blue...
in Miami, Florida. He did not allow a sack during his junior and senior seasons, and was named as a Parade
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
first-team All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
pick as a senior. He also earned first team Class 6A All-State honors, and helped guide Northwestern to the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Class 6A state title.
College career
Carey was a four-year letterman at University of Miami from 2000 to 2003. In 1999, Carey was redshirted and was a member of the Hurricanes' scout team.He played in eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2000. As a sophomore, Carey played in every game including one start, when he stepped in for injured left tackle Bryant McKinnie
Bryant McKinnie
Bryant McKinnie is a American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
for the season finale against Virginia Tech. He started all 12 games at right offensive tackle as a junior, collecting eight touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
-resulting blocks and 79 key blocks (42 pancakes). For his efforts, he was named as a second-team All-Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
selection. He started 11 games as a senior, moving to left guard in spring drills after starting at right tackle as a junior. As a senior, he was named as a third-team All-America choice by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and College Football News
College Football News
College Football News is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includes comparisons between teams, predictions of game outcomes and...
. He also earned second-team All-Big East Conference honors from the media. Carey led the Hurricanes in key blocks (knockdowns/pancakes) as both a junior and senior.
2004
Carey was a first-round draft choice (19th overall) of his hometown Miami Dolphins in the 2004 NFL Draft2004 NFL Draft
The 2004 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...
. He was the third offensive lineman selected, behind only Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
offensive tackle Robert Gallery
Robert Gallery
-Oakland Raiders:In 2004, he started 15 games at right tackle and gave up 3 sacks. In 2005, he started all 16 games at right tackle and gave up 3.5 sacks. The Raiders moved him to left tackle at the beginning of the 2006 preseason...
(2nd, Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
) and Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
offensive guard Shawn Andrews
Shawn Andrews
-Philadelphia Eagles:Andrews was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles as the 16th overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft, after trading up with the San Francisco 49ers. The day after selecting Andrews, the Eagles traded John Welbourn to the Kansas City Chiefs, officially making Andrews the team's starting...
(16th, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
). The Dolphin signed Carey to a five-year, $8.6 million deal. Carey earned $6.3 million in total salary in his first year.
Carey was tried at both tackle and guard during training camp his rookie season. He went on to play in 14 games, including two starts. The first of his NFL career came when he opened at right tackle in place of the injured John St. Clair
John St. Clair
John Bradley St. Clair is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent of the National Football League. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.St...
(ankle) at the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
on October 10. He also opened at that spot the following week at the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Carey struggled at times during his rookie campaign, but showed enough promise to be a solid starter in the near future.
2005
Carey was originally planned to be the starter at left tackle in 2005, but he was shifted to right tackle in August. He went on to play in all 16 games, including 14 starts at right tackle. He secured the right tackle job following the benching of Stockar McDougleStockar McDougle
Stockar McDougle is an American football offensive lineman who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Lions 20th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft...
after Week 6. Carey was part of a line that yielded just 26 sacks—the fourth-lowest total in the NFL—and led a running game that averaged 118.6 yards an outing and 4.3 yards per rush attempt, which ranked seventh and fourth in the AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
. He took part in all but one offensive snap over the final 11 weeks of the season.
2006
The team once again considered moving Carey in 2006 - this time to right guard - however that notion was quickly abandoned. During a season when the Dolphins' offensive line mightily struggled early in the year, Carey was the lone bright spot. Starting all 16 games of the year at right tackle, Carey was by far the Dolphins' most consistent and productive offensive lineman.2007
During a news conference that occurred during the first day of the 2007 NFL Draft2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
, Coach Cam Cameron
Cam Cameron
-External links:...
announced that Carey is now the team's starting left tackle.
2008
With the Miami Dolphins drafting Jake LongJake Long
Jake Edward Long is an American football offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Dolphins first overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan...
as the number one pick, Carey was moved to the right tackle spot where started all 16 games in 2008. According to profootballfocus.com, Carey was rated the 7th best tackle in the NFL. He only yielded 6 sacks during the entire season with 6 QB hits and 13 QB pressures.
2009
In 2009, Carey started all 16 games for the Dolphins at the right tackle spot. As of January 3, 2010, Carey has started 74 straight games for the Dolphins heading into the offseason.Carey gave up only 4 sacks in 2009.
Personal
Vernon wedded LaTavia, his long-time girlfriend, on October 5, 2004—the Tuesday prior to the New England Patriots game of his rookie season on October 10 (which would also end up being his first career start). The couple has a son, Vernon, Jr. and twins, son Jaylen, and daughter, Taelynn. They reside in Miramar, FloridaMiramar, Florida
Miramar is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city was named after the Miramar district of Havana, Cuba. As of the 2010 census, the population was 122,041...
. Growing up, the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
was his favorite sports team and Reggie White
Reggie White
Reginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...
was his favorite athlete, Carey lists "Martin
Martin (TV series)
Martin is an American sitcom produced by HBO Independent Productions that aired for five seasons, from August 27, 1992 to May 1, 1997 on Fox...
" as favorite television show, Biggie Smalls as favorite recording artist and The Bible as favorite book. He holds a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in liberal arts from Miami.