Las Vegas standout picks up DI offers, commits to SJSU after first ever season playing football
LAS VEGAS (BVM) – Despite a father who coached football in Las Vegas for 20 years and a brother who’s a former walk-on football player at UNLV, Fernando “Junior” Carmona grew up with hoop dreams.
His 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame certainly lent itself to a future on the basketball court, but all it took was a week of practice on the gridiron last year for Carmona to realize his true passion.
“One day my brother told me to go out to practice just to try it out, so I went out for about a week and really fell in love with the game,” Carmona said. “Everything felt natural to me and I really enjoyed it; it just grew on me.”
Carmona showcased his athleticism and size at tight end for Las Vegas High School during his first ever football season in 2019 where he averaged 19 yards per reception. Former NFL tight ends such as Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates provided further proof for Carmona that the basketball-to-football transition can be made successfully. The Las Vegas senior studied YouTube clips of Gonzalez, Gates and took note of what they brought from the court to the gridiron.
Carmona’s footwork and, surprisingly, physicality he developed playing basketball transitioned smoothly to the football field.
“A lot of people of people don’t see it (physicality) in basketball, but being a bigger person like myself, I had to fight for rebounds which helped with jumping and catching the ball at its highest point,” Carmona said. “It (basketball background) also helped with recruiting because coaches saw a lot of my basketball film, my movement there and that helped a lot. It all correlated quite well.”
https://twitter.com/carmonaajr/status/1308551664974979072
In the span of a year, Carmona went from being completely locked in on basketball to receiving serious Division I football interest. 247Sports ranks him as a three-star tight end recruit and the No. 16 prospect in the state of Nevada for the 2021 class.
Carmona has picked up offers from New Mexico State, Dartmouth, Portland State and San Diego, but his first offer meant the most.
San Jose State University was the first school to ever reach out and build a relationship with Carmona back in February, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed as he committed to the Spartans in October.
“They (SJSU) never even saw me because of COVID; I wasn’t able to see any coaches or go to any camps,” Carmona said. “They took a big shot on me and they kind of got my recruiting rolling so that played a big role.”
San Jose State is one of a few schools who project Carmona as an offensive lineman rather than a tight end at the next level. The rapport he’s built with Spartans’ offensive line coach Josh Oglesby is another reason for confidence as Carmona transitions to the collegiate ranks at a new position.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge (transitioning to offensive line), but I’m going to be around a great group of guys, a great coach and a great organization with a really good culture so I have no doubt that I can make the change and help out the team,” Carmona said. “I’m willing to do anything just to get us a win so if they want me to play anywhere on the field, I’ll move there and try to help out the team as much as I can.”
First off I want to thank my family and friends who have helped me through this journey, and I want to thank all the coaches who have believed in me. With all that said I will like to say I’m committing to the University of San Jose State🔵🟡 #spartanup pic.twitter.com/WUEnG3g4YV
— junīor (@carmonaajr) October 18, 2020
