Game Program Feature: Shane Carden
September 23, 2014 | Football
Originally printed Sept. 20, 2014 in the First and Goal football game program
By Jody Jones,
Assoc. Director of Athletic Media Relations
When the final chapter is written in Shane Carden's storybook career at East Carolina, the pages will be filled with stories of an unknown quarterback from Texas who seized the opportunity he was given and rose above the noise to become triumphant, while rewriting the record books.
Although he wasn't offered a scholarship until a week before signing day, Carden embraced the opportunity to be a Pirate and learned the facets of the game from every angle as a member of the scout team.
"He comes and he's on the scout team for two years," ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill said. "He played tight end, running back - you can ask (associate head coach) John Wiley - everywhere. Even guard some days. Didn't flinch. Didn't whine. Didn't pout."
After two years on the scout team, it appeared Carden's time had arrived. However, he sustained a broken finger during spring practice and lost the starting job to Rio Johnson.
He recovered in time for fall camp and his persistent work ethic impressed the coaching staff enough to put him in the second half of a blowout loss to South Carolina in week two. His first pass attempt was intercepted, but true to form he collected himself and led the Pirates to pair of scoring drives.
Carden made his first of 27 consecutive starts (entering the Sept. 20 game against North Carolina) a week later and completed his first campaign under center with 3,116 yards passing and 31 total touchdowns and was named the program's Offensive Player-of-the-Year.
"Once he got the opportunity, he never turned it loose," McNeill told the Fayetteville Observer. "He took care of the football as well, moving our football team. I think he's one of those guys who had an opportunity and took advantage of it.''
"When he first got here he was raw, extremely raw and he'll be the first to tell you," offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said. "He's steadily progressed and as he got confidence and played more, more improvement came along with that and made pretty good package."
He flourished in Riley's passing scheme throughout 2012, but it wasn't until the final game of the regular season against Marshall that saw Carden come of age.
With the Pirates' bowl future at stake, Carden engineered a game-tying drive that moved the ball 76 yards in 11 plays, with only one timeout and 1:55 remaining, hitting Danny Webster in the back of the end zone with four seconds left to force overtime, and completing a 4-and-10 from the 24-yard line along the way.
Carden then gave the Pirates' their eighth win of the season and a share of the Conference USA East Division title with a 1-yard run in double overtime. He completed 38 passes for 439 yards that night and accounted for six touchdowns (three rushing, three passing).
"When you're kind of underrated, to get over that and show people that you missed out on me, it's always a good feeling," Carden said.
With his starting job more than secure, Carden entered the 2013 campaign amidst high expectations and his sights set on a return to the postseason. He didn't disappoint.
Carden set school single-season records for passing yards (4,139) and total yards (4,242), while posting the second-most completions (387), touchdown passes (33) and touchdown runs (10). He finished the year ranked among the NCAA FBS top-10 in seven offensive categories including second in completion percentage and was one of only nine players to throw for more than 4,000 yards.
Those numbers helped him earn the Conference USA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and become the first Pirate quarterback to receive first-team all-league honors.
While ECU fans and opposing coaches took notice of Carden all season, it was his performances against arguably the Pirates' biggest gridiron rivals that garnered him the most attention.
In week four against North Carolina, Carden passed for 376 yards with a trio of touchdown strikes, while totting the ball across the goal line three times himself en route to the Pirates' first win in Chapel Hill since 1975. He was selected as an ESPN Primetime Performer for his aerial assault and ground attack.
He continued to wreak havoc on instate foes in week 11, accounting for five touchdowns in East Carolina's 42-28 thrashing of NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium. He completed 23-of-30 passes for 255 yards and three scores along with two rushing touchdowns.
"I love throwing touchdowns to another guy, then going down and tackling him in the end zone," Carden stated. "It's the exhilaration of that and looking at your offensive line as you're jogging down the field and tapping them on the head. I really enjoy that feeling."
A month later, he directed the Pirates to a 37-20 Beef O' Brady's Bowl win over Ohio to give them their first 10-win season since 1991. Carden finished the day with a 29-of-45, 273-yard effort that enabled him to become ECU's first 4,000-yard single-season passer.
A beneficiary of the Pirates' pass-first offense, Carden has also displayed poise and consistently shown the ability to make the proper throws. By his own admission, he scrambled outside of the pocket too much as a junior and worked hard to improve his pocket presence. He's learning to trust his offensive line and other blockers to give him the protection he needs.
"I want to stay in the pocket as long as I can and only get out when I have to," he said. "There were times last year that I got out a little early even when the protection was good."
In 29 career games, Carden has thrown for more than 8,000 yards and over 60 touchdowns with a ridiculous completion percentage of nearly 70 percent as Riley implemented his offense around Carden's unique skill set.
"I knew what this offense was capable of if we could get to where we were running it well," Riley explained. "All the good things we've done is great, but hopefully we can accomplish more. There is no cap. We always feel like we can get better and better."
Driving Carden to get better and better has always been his family. The son of a former professional baseball player and collegiate women's volleyball player with two brothers who pitched collegiately and an uncle that played quarterback at USC, Carden is a natural athlete that comes from a good bloodline.
"I'm just trying to make my parents proud," he explained. "They've given me so much over the years. More than I deserve. They helped get me where I am and I didn't want to waste any of that."
A candidate for numerous postseason honors, including the Camp, Manning, Maxwell and O'Brien awards, Carden finds the best way to deal with all the attention is just to play the game.
"Before I didn't have any of that and I was a happy guy," he said. "I love the game of football and I want to represent my family and my school in positive way and enjoy the process of it all."
