Ka'Deem Carey is at the curtain call of his football-playing career and is now pursuing a career in coaching.
The Tucson native and former Arizona Wildcat is retiring from the Canadian Football League and will become the next running backs coach for the Toronto Argonauts, a team he led to a CFL championship.
Carey played in the CFL for eight seasons following a three-year career in the NFL, and played with three teams: Calgary Stampeders, Toronto and Saskatchewan Roughriders. In his debut with Saskatchewan last July, Carey suffered a gruesome leg injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Carey became a household name in Tucson at Canyon del Oro High School, where he starred for four seasons from 2007-10 and led the Dorados to a Class 4A-I state championship in 2009; CDO lost the 2010 state title game.
Carey signed with the Arizona Wildcats' 2011 recruiting class to play for former head coach Mike Stoops, who was fired halfway through Carey's freshman season. Carey played two seasons under former head coach Rich Rodriguez and became a two-time consensus All-American and was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2013.
Toronto Argonauts’ Ka’Deem Carey (25) runs the ball during the second half of a CFL game at the 111th Grey Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia, Nov. 17, 2024.
Carey owns Arizona's career rushing record (4,239 yards), single-season rushing record (1,929 yards), and single-game rushing record (366 yards). In 2012, his 366 yards against Colorado set the Pac-12 record for rushing yards in a game.
Carey declared for the NFL Draft and was drafted bythe Chicago Bears with the 117th overall pick in the fourth round in 2014. Carey rushed for 443 yards and two touchdowns in three seasons in Chicago, before he was released in 2017.
Carey played for the Stampeders from 2018-23 and signed with the Argonauts in 2014. He led Toronto to a Grey Cup title with a 41-24 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Carey signed with Saskatchewan the following season.
Since his first season with the Stampeders in 2018, Carey emerged as one of the top running backs in the CFL and rushed for 4,390 yards and 29 touchdowns, along with 1,175 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Between his career at CDO, Arizona, Chicago and the CFL, Carey rushed for a combined 14,324 yards and 158 touchdowns on 2,080 attempts (6.8 yards per carry); he had 18,163 all-purpose yards in that stretch.
UA running back Ka’Deem Carey checks his progress on the video board and keep tabs on his pursuers as he breaks off a long run against Colorado in the third quarter of their 2012 game at Arizona Stadium. Carey set a UA and Pac-12 rushing record that day with 327 yards.
Carey's first official game as Toronto's running backs coach will be on July 12, when the Argonauts take on the Montreal Alouettes.
