MySouthlakeNews.com
Around 100 football players from across the country were named Army All-Americans by NBC Sports last week. Two of them are Carroll Dragons RJ Mickens and Andrej Karic.
“There aren’t a ton of high school players chosen for this game,” CISD athletic director Steve Keasler told MySouthlakeNews.com. “For us to have two is just another example of the great things going on in our athletic programs and our classrooms.”
The two Carroll seniors will perform at the Army All-American Bowl next year in San Antonio. “All American Games” calls the sporting event the most-watched all-star high school football game every year.
RJ, who has served on the Dragon varsity team ever since his freshman year, plays as both a safety and wide receiver for the team. As previously reported in a Dragon Pride feature, RJ was named second-team state among defenders as a sophomore and state honorable mention on defense last year. He was also named the District 5-6A Utility Player of the Year during his junior year in 2018, and he earned first-team district honors in both his sophomore and junior years. He was being sought after by top college programs in the country from Texas A&M, Louisiana State and Notre Dame before committing to Clemson University in South Carolina
“It’s actually mind-blowing,” RJ says in Dragon Pride. "It all starts over once I get there; it feels like the freshman year of high school repeats itself, and I’ve got to work from down to up and hopefully it can go the same way my high school career went.”
Andrej, meanwhile, has been a varsity starter for the Dragon offensive line for three years. As previously reported in Dragon Pride, Andrej can bench 305 pounds, registered just under five seconds in the 40-yard dash and was named first-team all-district in 2018. Andrej was pursued by several schools including Baylor and Oregon, but he committed to the University of Texas at Austin after visiting the campus earlier this year.
“I just love everything about it,” Andrej says to MySouthlakeNews.com. “I fell in love after my first visit. Being named to play in this game on a national stage and getting to wear the burnt orange, I couldn’t be more excited.”
RJ and Andrej will play at the Army All-American Bowl at 1 p.m. on January 4, 2020 in San Antonio. The game can be watched live on NBC.