Former Briar Woods football standout Alex Carter appears to be achieving similar success at Stanford University as he did for the Falcons.

The freshman cornerback is the only one of 11 starters on the Stanford team to start a game this season, earning him recognition and profile in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Carter is the son of Tom Carter, who played cornerback for nine years in the NFL, including four years with the Washington Redskins, a team headquartered in Ashburn. The Carter family has experienced turns of joy and sorrow this year. While celebrating the success of Alex, the family has had to overcome the unexpected death of his younger sister Cameron.