Florida A&M coach Rubin Carter has had his coaching staff comb the state the past two years looking for recruits.
Sometimes the best recruiting, however, is just being home when someone comes knocking on your door.
Cornerback Michael Creary showed up on Carter's doorstep in February of 2006 out of Deerfield Beach High School. Carter didn't know at the time Creary would become one of the best cornerbacks in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2006.
"Mike came to us in February after we had finished recruiting," Carter said. "He had an opportunity to come out with about 100 or so players and try out for the team.
"We noticed something very special about him during his workout. He was very focused, really concentrated. He was real meticulous on how he did things. He showed some explosion with his body mechanics. He also just had excellent change of direction."
Carter invited Creary to preseason camp as a walk-on last year and the freshman rose up the depth chart. Creary ended up starting at left corner in all 11 games in 2006, finishing the season with 39 tackles, five pass breakups and two interceptions.
Photo: Michael Creary #21
"He just worked his way up," Carter said. "We had other scholarship players on the team. Mike just had such a tremendous work ethic. He is going to give you his best in everything he does. He is a self-starter and is going to do whatever it takes to get better."
Creary's efforts earned him a 2007 All-MEAC preseason second-team selection and a partial scholarship this season.
"I didn't know I had made the team at first," Creary said. "Somebody had to tell me, but I just use it as motivation to get better. You can't get big-headed. You have to stay humble. When things like that come through for you, it just lets you know that you've been working."
Creary, 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, said he never doubted that he had the ability to play at this level, but he missed out on opportunities to get a scholarship from other schools as a late academic qualifier.
Creary said he doesn't regret what happened to him, because being at FAMU is where he is supposed to be and where he wants to play out his college career.
Creary said being challenged by former All-MEAC receiver Roosevelt Kiser and FAMU's other receivers every day in practice last year helped him develop his game quickly.
"They took Mike to school a couple times," Carter said. "It was a learning process for him and he never made the same mistake twice. That is what helped him become a better football player
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