Carrington Valentine Reflects on Football Journey Ahead of NFL Draft

"I feel i'm the best press-man corner in this draft class."

Photo via Jordan Prather | USA Today Sports

Carrington Valentine set a goal for himself before coming to the University of Kentucky as a true freshman in 2020: See the field. 

The Cincinnati native had just learned how to play defensive back before his senior season at Archbishop Mueller High School. It went without a hitch, but he knew it wasn't going to be that easy once he made that hour-and-a-half drive down to Lexington to suit up as a Wildcat. 

Nothing outlandish, just play. He met that goal, playing in 10 games, even making one start. He totaled 10 tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble — which came in UK's Gator Bowl win over NC State. 

Check. What's next? How about starting as a sophomore? 

Insert starts in 12 of Kentucky's 13 games, in which he ranked fourth on the team with 61 tackles while adding a sack, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, five pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.

As his sophomore season progressed, Valentine knew for the first time that he really had a shot at making the NFL. He knew that there was still plenty of work to do, though.

It was that offseason before his third and final season as a Wildcat in 2022 that a switch flipped. Valentine changed his approach to the game of football. He took in more and more film. Things began to slow down, which in his words "really showed his talent." 

Then came an even bigger leap. Valentine defended 10 passes and logged his first career interception to go with 48 tackles, 1.5 TFL and a sack. He went from a targeted corner in the eyes of opposing quarterbacks to someone that clearly showed he was capable of hanging with some of the best athletes in the SEC. 

Successfully competing in the SEC is part of the reason why he thinks he's the best press-man corner in the 2023 NFL draft:

"I feel i'm the best press-man corner in this draft class. I went against the best competition in the country — the SEC," Valentine said. "Compared to all the guys who are getting the hype and stuff like that, with how I covered those guys, compared to them, it looks different and it is different. I just feel like you can turn on the tape and look at it."

The tape could even rewind all the way back to when Valentine took the field for his first organized game of football at the age of seven. He was supposed to be molded as a QB, but his idolization of Adrian Peterson led to his debut coming at running back. 

After catching a pitch, Valentine took off down the sideline, turned on the jets and left everyone in the dust. In unknowingly attempting his best Forrest Gump impression, he didn't even stop when he got the end zone, not realizing that he had just scored his first touchdown. 

Eventually, he stopped. Soon after came a thought: "I'm actually good at this football thing."

His speed has never left, as seen by his 4.44 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine. After getting solid enough feedback from there and at Kentucky's Pro Day, it affirmed Valentine's decision to turn pro instead of returning for a senior season in college.

"I just felt like I was ready to keep growing and reach my dreams in going to the NFL. Going out there and competing with the best guys in the world. Showing those guys that I belong in the league, too. That's what boiled down my decision," he said. 

Now after arriving as a 3-star recruit, Valentine is on track to be the fifth defensive back drafted during the Mark Stoops era in Lexington.

"I learned a lot. I met a lot of great people. Being there with Coach White. Coach Stoops and even my position coach, Coach Collins. Listening to those guys, they helped me and brought me along," Valentine said of his time at UK. "Coach Stoops took a chance on me as a freshman. Making that brotherhood with those guys down there that I can call family now, that's my biggest takeaway."

Valentine carries some exciting traits and appears to have plenty of upside, something that has resulted in his name staying on draft boards. Mock drafts have the explosive athlete going anywhere from the third round to the sixth.

"I've heard some 50/50, i've heard some day two, heard some day three. Getting feedback, i've asked them questions too, because i'm still learning, so just asking them questions about different types of schemes and technique and how they do things," he said. "I'll be grateful anywhere I go. It'd be funny if I ended up full-circle, back in Cincinnati, but i'll be happy anywhere. It's God's plan."

"I'm a competitor, someone who's durable. A lockdown corner that's gonna frustrate receivers. A good overall person and someone who's really willing to learn. I'm only 21, so I'm still learning things and I'm never going to stop wanting to learn. Someone you can count on and someone who's going to come in and try to make a difference on the team in some way."

The NFL draft will commence from Thursday, April 27 to Saturday, April 29, as Valentine eagerly awaits for that life-changing phone call. 

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