Tuesday was a day that Columbia linebacker Chris Carey would love to forget.
It was on that day that he walked into Lions' head coach Ray Tellier's office and announced that his worst fear had come true -- Carey was going to miss football practice.
The flu had taken its toll on the defensive wizard. And Carey was as heartbroken as a six-foot, 230-pound football savage could be.
Chris "was sick yesterday and he couldn't practice," Tellier said. "He told me 'I'm so pissed off. This is the only fun I have all day.'
"He was so bummed that he couldn't go out and do what he likes to do everyday, which is go out and bang people."
Carey -- Columbia's starting middle linebacker and leading tackler last season -- is at his best when he is pounding opposing ball carriers.
Not overly fast by any means -- Tellier says the linebacker's forte is his "agility" -- Carey's one of those players who has a nose for the ball, making him just as likely to take on an offensive lineman as an opposing running back.
And that relentlessness helped Carey register 102 tackles last season in just his first year in the starting lineup.
"He's a football guy to the bone," Tellier said. "He's in the middle of the field and he can handle linemen, and he's explosive and strong enough to stay inside and do a real good job. He'll run to the end well and do a good job on the perimeter."
Aside from becoming a disruptive presence on the Lions' defensive side of the ball, Carey also developed into a respected leader last year.
As only a sophomore, he took on the responsibility of calling Columbia's defensive plays -- and according to his coach, was a pretty quick learner.
It was not as surprising as it could have been,therefore, that this season Carey became only the second Columbia junior in the past 75 years to be named captain.
"To be elected as a captain as a junior is very unusual," Tellier said. "The kind of committment he shows and the respect he earns from his teammates and the coaching staff, as a junior, is very impressive."
Hard to believe after all his success last season that Columbia's captain was far from a top Lions' recruit.
Turn off the game tape and Carey looks like just another guy on the 140-man Columbia roster.
As a high-schooler, Carey attended the Pingry School, an institution far more reputed for its academics than the prowess of its football program.
His size isn't overly impressive either. Though he weighs about 230 pounds now, he far from dented the scale in high school at about 205 pounds.
Still, Carey did grab Tellier's attention as a hard-nosed player with a heart of steel.
Tellier is now thanking the football gods that Carey decided to come to New York.
"We recruited him, but he wasn't one of those blue-chip guys," Tellier said. "But he's a 100 percent football guy and that really forced us to take a look at him."
This season, Carey -- a Football Gazzette preseason honorable mention All-American -- has continued to shine in the Lions' defense. He again is Columbia's leading tackler (39 tackles through Columbia's first four games) and also has an interception.
Oh, and as for the flu that forced him to miss practice this week, Tellier vows that Carey will be back on the field come Saturday in Philadelphia.
"He will be out there on Franklin Field on Saturday," Tellier said. "He doesn't miss many days and he's not going to miss the game."
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