Carver’s Slade Price Embracing Quarterback Role

By: Christina Chambers

Mongtomery, AL –  

 

Before the sun rises, Slade Price arrives at Carver’s practice football field for summer workouts. “He’s always the first one here, and the last one to leave,” said Carver head coach Billy Gresham. 

 

“They have to know that I’m going to give them everything I’ve got, and d I want to know they’ll give me everything they have so I just come out here and let them see that I’m not against being out here before or after them,” said Slade Price.  

 

The 17-year-old transferred to Carver High School from Hooper Academy last year with hopes of earning a college football scholarship.  “The school I came from, college coaches didn’t come through ever.  It was almost impossible to come play for a 6A school like this, so I just take it as a blessing,” he said. 

 

Price earned the starting quarterback job after the Woulverine’s spring game against Central Phenix City.  

 

“He really has the work ethic beyond none. He works very hard, and the guys really rally around him.  He’s that vocal guy that will help the guys when they’re down, he’s just that overall leader, one of the attributes we really look into as far as him being a quarterback,” Gresham said. 

 

 When Price takes the football field on August 27th against Lee of Montgomery, he will have already achieved a milestone before throwing his first touchdown. He’s the first white quarterback to start at Carver in over 50 years. 

 

“It doesn’t matter either way if you’re black, white, go to a majority white school, or a majority black school, it’s all education, it’s all football, its all athletics. We want the best out of our young men no matter their background, their race, or their color.  We just want our young men to strive for greatness,” Gresham said. 

 

Carver has shown it can develop major college talent. Former woulverine, Jeremy Johnson was a high school All-American at Carver,  and now is the starting quarterback at Auburn University.  

 

“I look up to him. I haven’t gotten a chance to really talk to him, but I definitely watch him at Auburn. He’s come out here, and  I’ve thrown with him a few times. He’s definitely my role model because his work ethic is harder than mine, and you can see where he’s at and it shows it,” Price said. 

 

Johnson’s jerseys hang in the gym. Motivation for Price, as he hopes to become the next great quarterback people talk about for years to come.