ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Barry Sanders Jr. recently sent a text to his former college roommate, Detroit Lions draft pick Alex Carter, jokingly telling Carter to wear the same jersey number that Sanders' legendary father wore for the Lions a couple decades ago.
"Get out of here," Carter responded.
Instead of the Hall of Fame running back's No. 20, which is actually retired anyway, Carter went with No. 33.
"He was excited," Carter said of the reaction he got from Sanders, Jr., to being selected in the third round by Detroit. "He gave me his dad's (phone) number just to keep in contact. We joked about it. It's pretty cool that connection right there."
Carter, a 6-foot, 196-pound cornerback, was roommates with Sanders Jr. last season at Stanford. Carter left school after his junior year for the NFL. Barry J. Sanders, like his father, is a running back and will be entering his redshirt senior year this fall.
Carter, 20, will never forget the first time he met Barry Sanders Sr., who rushed for more than 15,000 yards for the Lions from 1989-98.
"He would come by the room every now and then and I would get a chance to talk to him," Carter said. "He was one of my idols growing up as a child.
"He has that quiet confidence. When he came in the room, I was shocked at first. I tried to keep my cool. I was like, 'Oh, wow, this is Barry Sanders right here in the flesh.' It was awesome meeting him."
Carter, who took part Saturday in the second day of the Lions' three-day rookie mini-camp, said he hasn't contacted Sanders Sr., who still lives in the Detroit area, since the draft.
"I will," Carter said. "Once we find a place to live and settle down, I'll contact him and see what he's up to."
Carter's father, Tom, is a former NFL player and a first-round draft pick in 1993 coming out of Notre Dame.
Through his dad, Carter also got to know Lions starting cornerback Rashean Mathis, who will be entering his 13th NFL season.
This will be Carter's first year in the league while it conceivably could be Mathis' last. It's not out of the question that Carter could be Mathis' replacement one day.
"I met him actually about 10 years ago when he was with Jacksonville," Carter said "We played golf together (along with Carter's dad). I know him pretty well from back then. I look forward to seeing him again."
Mathis, 34, sent a congratulatory text to Carter after the Lions picked him.
"He's going to take me in and mentor me, help me learn the system and get adjusted," Carter said.
To this point, it's been everything Carter hoped for -- and more.
"This has been a dream," Carter said of his first week as a professional football player. "You always want to make it to the NFL. You've got the NFL logo on, the Detroit Lions. I couldn't ask for anything more."
