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GREENSBORO -- Carlton Fears: That's a name, not a complete sentence. Rest assured that N.C. A&T's new starting quarterback isn't afraid of very much.

Thrust into action when Herbert Miller suffered a concussion at Norfolk State last week, Fears did make a couple of mistakes. He also showed off a strong arm and an undeniably confident approach that he'll take into his first NCAA start at Hampton on Saturday night.

"I was nervous on the sidelines," he admitted Wednesday. "But once you get in there, you lose the nerves and start playing ball. I believed I would bring us back."

He nearly pulled it off, throwing for one touchdown and setting up another as the Aggies, down 20 points at the half, put a scare into the Spartans in an eventual 27-21 loss.

"He's a go-getter," Aggies coach Lee Fobbs said. "He's an athletic guy who has a big arm. And, no, there is no fear on his part."

Why should there be? What's football when you've already tolerated military school?

Fears, a 6-foot-1 junior from Stone Mountain, Ga., wound up at A&T after two years at Georgia Military College, the only junior-college football program in that state. His reasons for attending were rather simple. For one thing, he didn't qualify for NCAA Division I play out of high school.

"And I didn't want to go to Mississippi for junior college," he said.

Fair enough. Five days a week, he and his fellow cadets awoke at 5:45 a.m. and began a routine that featured six hours of class, three hours of football practice and at least three appearances at roll call. It wasn't always smooth. Fears admitted he accumulated extra community-service obligations with citations for tardiness.

"I'm not a punctual person," he said. "That was my problem."

But he made it through the program, earned his associate's degree and fielded interest from Youngstown State, A&T and others.

"Looking back on it, I accomplished what I had to," he said. "You want to get out and go to a Division I school."

The decision on a four-year school was easy by comparison. A&T, Fears said, offered the vitality that was, shall we say, lacking in a military environment.

Fobbs said the new guy made an immediate impression and fought Miller, the incumbent starter, throughout August. When Miller looked woozy after a hit against Norfolk State, the coaches didn't hesitate to tap Fears, who made his mark with a precise touchdown strike into double coverage to Giorgio Lowrance. On the next possession, a 36-yard connection to Lowrance set up another score.

Asked how far he can throw the ball, Fears said, "About 70 yards." And he said it the way he might have described his height.

"I love throwing the deep ball, but I believe I can make every throw," he said. "I want my coaches to be confident in me. And I try to tell my receivers, 'Don't stop running. I don't care where you are on the field. I'm going to get the ball to you.' "

The Spartans sacked Fears twice, and that hacked him off. He doesn't seem to mind the suggestion that Hampton may follow suit.

"I expect them to blitz," he said. "I want them to blitz."

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels @news-record.com