When Ferndale High School’s Isaiah Carlson went down late in his junior season with an ACL injury, his future became muddled.
The star running back and linebacker courted a lot of attention early in his high school career, receiving his first NCAA Division I offer from the University of Nevada on Aug. 26, 2020.
After the injury, his options dwindled. Carlson went more than a year between new offers after four Pac-12 schools extended opportunities pre-injury in mid-2021.
“I had a lot of schools looking at me, and then once I got hurt, all the schools kind of backed off to the point where I was only talking to one or two schools coming into the [2022] season,” Carlson said. “They were all kind of waiting to see how I came back.”
As his senior season began, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound ball carrier showed he was back to full strength, and some new doors opened up.
The University of Montana and UCLA stuck with him. Montana offered Carlson on Aug. 10, 2022, and hoped to have him commit early. He remained undecided, as more visits were coming down the pipeline.
“I kind of just made the decision to bet on myself and not commit to see if I could get any offers by the end of the year,” Carlson said.
Carlson’s senior year was his best yet, rushing for 1,594 yards and 28 touchdowns.
He set a new school record at Ferndale for career rushing touchdowns with 57 and was named to the All-WESCO 3A North First Team at both running back and linebacker.
On defense, Carlson totaled 54 tackles and six tackles for loss.
UCLA offered Carlson at running back during his official visit on Dec. 3, 2022. He committed the next day before leaving campus and signed during the early signing period on Dec. 21, 2022.
“It’s kind of always been my dream school, I can’t even lie,” Carlson added. “Since before recruiting even started.”
Carlson was being scouted — and highly touted — on both sides of the ball, but running back has always been his preferred position.
“My heart’s always been on the offensive side [of the ball],” Carlson said. “I’m glad I get to go to UCLA to play running back.”
Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich had a front-row seat to watching Carlson get back to form this past season.
“To be patient, like he was, and have it pay off in the end — I’m super happy for him,” Plenkovich said. “It doesn’t always work that way.”
The hours Carlson put in when nobody was watching got him back to this point, Plenkovich said. He spent a great deal of time working out away from his teammates to rehabilitate his knee. In the end, it was all worth it.
“It shows his character and shows that as bad as it is to go through that, it shows how resilient he is,” Plenkovich added. “I think those are things he’s going to carry with him, too.”
UCLA has Carlson ecstatic on several fronts. He is excited to play under head coach Chip Kelly, to learn from running backs coach DeShaun Foster and to live in California.
Carlson had an opportunity to attend practices during his visit and got a feel for the coaches’ styles. It was a perfect fit.
“I just love the way [Chip Kelly] coaches,” he said. “He’s got a lot of science behind everything they do, and I think that’s pretty exciting. Especially because it kind of shows how he values his players … he’s kind of hard-nosed once you get out there on the field, but I love the way they run their offense.”
Carlson’s connection with Foster was immediate, and it’s a relationship he is eager to build further. Whether he receives ample playing time this year or none at all, he hopes to catch on to the speed and competition level of college football as quickly as he can.
He does not plan to redshirt as of now, and his top priority is making the biggest impact he can as a freshman.
“Isaiah, although we didn’t do it that much, he catches the ball exceedingly well — he’ll be good out of the backfield,” Plenkovich said. “He’ll be able to do a lot of different things for them. I think it’s a good fit for him.”
Carlson will graduate early from Ferndale in January and move to Westwood, California, in March. He is leaning towards a major in business economics but is undecided.
“I’m just super happy for him to get this opportunity,” Plenkovich said. “I’m excited to watch what he gets to do with it.”
