FORMER BENICIA High great Austin Carr leads the Big 10 Conference in receptions and receiving yards while playing for the Northwestern Wildcats.

Things just keep getting better and better for former Benicia High great Austin Carr.

Carr, currently enjoying his senior football season with Northwestern University, leads the Big 10 in receptions (26) and receiving yards (393). Only Nick Westbrook of Indiana University has more touchdown catches than Carr, who set Benicia High season records in rushing yards (1,481), combined rushing/receiving yards (2,325) and total points (196) in 2011.

Carr joined Northwestern as a non-scholarship walk-on in 2012 and now is a team captain and one of college football’s biggest success stories.

“I don’t think many people expected this, including myself,” Carr said. “I’m pretty excited. I was really irrelevant for the most part a couple of years ago and it’s definitely a lot different now. Teams are adjusting their defensive game plans to try and stop me.”

The fifth-year senior has been practically unstoppable, catching a touchdown pass in three straight games while averaging seven catches and 122 yards over the past two games. Last Saturday against Nebraska, Carr caught a game-high eight passes for 109 yards and a TD.

Carr received a big scare in a 24-13 win over Duke on Sept. 17. He went across the middle trying to make a reception and got clobbered by Blue Devils safety Deondre Singleton, who was ejected from the game for targeting. The game was delayed for 10 minutes, allowing television replays to show the devastating hit over and over again while Carr regained his senses.

“That was one of the Top 3 hardest hits I’ve ever taken in my life,” Carr said of Singleton’s hit. “Credit goes to our strength staff at Northwestern because I’m much stronger and more flexible than I used to be and I can take those kinds of hits. It did rock my world a bit, but luckily I didn’t suffer a concussion or anything.

“I thought it was a fairly decent football play. It all happened so fast. I saw the replays and I’m not sure it should have been flagged, let alone had him kicked out of the game. But that’s not for me to say. All I know is I got hit pretty well and that’s the kind of hits safeties want to make to keep receivers from coming over the middle.”

It’s that kind of toughness that has Northwestern coaches drooling over Carr, who has already graduated with a degree in philosophy and is now pursing a Masters degree in management studies at the Kellogg School of Management.

“This is a guy who will be running companies or could be the president,” Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald told the Chicago Tribune. “He is that type of person. Somebody asked me about him and I said, ‘I’m just honored to be his coach.’”

“I’m honored and I feel like my coaches have a high view of me,” Carr said. “I’m just focusing on excelling where I am right now.”

Though Carr has enjoyed personal success, his Wildcats have struggled to a 1-3 start, including losses to Western Michigan and Illinois State. Northwestern opened Big 10 play last week against Nebraska and lost 24-13.

“Those were definitely let-downs for us as a team,” Carr said. “It’s tough having a productive season and not seeing any results as a team. As a team leader, I take some responsibility. But I feel like we’re ready to put four quarters together.”

Northwestern takes to the road for the first time this season when the Wildcats play at Iowa on Saturday. Iowa went 12-0 during the regular season last year and is the defending Big 10 West champion.

“It’s never easy in the Big 10,” Carr said.

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