KFBCA Top 11: Brett Carroll

The Kansas Football Coaches Association picked their All-State teams in early December, including the All-Class Top 11. Kansas Pregame is providing capsules for each of the Top 11 selections. Check out Olathe East offensive and defensive lineman Brett Carroll's capsule below. For a look at the complete 2023 KFBCA All-State teams click here.

Olathe East’s Brett Carroll has been showing off Samson-like strength since entering high school as a freshman, starting on the offensive line right off the bat.

Getting on the field at offensive tackle, the frosh helped the Hawks to an excellent season despite the first game of the year getting canceled and the team having a bye in Week 2. They didn’t play their first game until September 18th, but from there finished the season 6-2 after a second round loss to eventual state runner-up Blue Valley North.

Following Carroll’s freshman year, the talented O-lineman saw continued growth in his game.

“When Brett arrived at East, he possessed a lot of skill and a tremendous amount of talent,” head coach Courtney Porter said. “Over the last four years he has gotten stronger, faster, and more agile. Some of that can be attributed to his work in the weight room, but also the fact that he plays two other sports. All of these things have contributed to his athletic improvements.”

The following two seasons weren’t as successful for the Hawks as a team, with East going 1-8 in 2021 and 2-7 in 2022.

As a sophomore in 2021, Carroll continued playing tackle, recording four pancakes.

As a junior, he was moved to center and also began playing defensive tackle on the other side of the ball, recording nine pancakes on offense, along with 15 tackles, two sacks and two tackles-for-loss on defense. 

Carroll earned All-League honorable mention honors in both campaigns.

Despite not seeing much winning on the football field in those two seasons, Carroll experienced more success in his junior winter and spring sports seasons than most see in a career.

During the 2022-23 wrestling season, the junior dominated with a 49-1 record, recording a Kansas high school single season record 44 falls and scoring 381.5 team points, the second most by a single wrestler in state history.

Carroll went on to win the school’s first wrestling state championship ever, taking gold in the heavyweight division, and also recently took third in Iowa at the Folkstyle nationals at 285.

“Brett's best asset as a player is that he is very physical,” Porter said. “He likes to mix it up in the trenches. He always wants to go against the best players on any team. I think this comes from his wrestling background and his love of competition.”

Further showing off his strength, in May Carroll set a personal record at Cessna in the shot put, with a heave 54 feet, five-and-a-quarter inches that gave him gold in the event at 6A state.

Not long after winning that gold, Carroll made a decision on his academic and athletic future, with scholarship offers from multiple Power 5 football programs including Kansas State, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Iowa State and others.

The 45th rated interior offensive lineman in the nation and seventh rated prospect in Kansas ultimately decided on the University of Minnesota.

With the decision made in July, Carroll was set to put all his focus on his senior season, which would see the Hawks’ fortunes change.

The Hawks had their struggles early on, losing two of their first three contests of the 2023 season in tough games against Olathe North and Lawrence Free State, but from there Carroll helped lead his team to six consecutive wins in convincing fashion, including a 21-7 win over eventual 6A champion Gardner-Edgerton in Week 7.

“Brett has been a leader in our program since he arrived,” Porter said. “He is a great player and very vocal. He holds his teammates accountable.”

East eventually saw their win streak come to an end in a second round playoff contest with Blue Valley, 17-0.

Carroll finished the year with 17 pancakes offensively, along with 40 tackles, three sacks, seven tackles-for-loss, two forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.

In addition to his numerous postseason accolades as one of the nation’s top offensive linemen, Carroll earned a nod to play in the 2024 All-American Bowl. 

Along with the continuation of his football career, Carroll plans to study business while at Minnesota, but first he’ll try to win another state championship in wrestling and track.