Barrett Carter shows off freakish athleticism after position change

Barrett Carter was all over the field on Saturday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Nov 13 13:24:03 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – The word for the Clemson defense this week was “respond” after losing at Notre Dame last week, and linebacker Barrett Carter took that to heart. He responded to the loss to the Irish. He responded to a position change and the loss of one of the defensive leaders. And he responded with a hurdle and the best performance of his Clemson career.

The defense was without starting WILL (weakside) linebacker Trenton Simpson, but Barrett Carter moved from the SAM (strongside) to the WILL and had one of his best days as a Tiger. Moving from the outside to the inside isn’t easy.

“He did great. It’s definitely different moving from outside and into the box,” middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said. “You couldn’t tell by the way he played tonight. With Barrett moving into a new position that he hasn’t played yet, we talked to him and he showed out.”

Carter said he was trying to pick up his teammate.

“I was just playing the game as it went on. I am glad I could help the team in anyway that I can,” Carter said afterward. "I hate that Trent is out, so it is that next-man-up mentality. Someone had to step up. We moved some guys around. We did it for him. He is hurt, so we just tried to pick him up and get the win.”

Carter became the first player to record 3.5 or more tackles for loss, two or more sacks and an interception in a game between two Power Five teams since South Carolina’s Melvin Ingram against Auburn in 2011.

“He was flying around, really productive, with eight tackles, two sacks, and 3 1/2 TFLs (tackles for loss), and he is as solid a player as we have in our program,” defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin said. “I couldn't be prouder of him. Just the work he put into transition and play our WILL backer tonight. All his hard work came to fruition for all the world to see. He can play any position that we ask him to in the linebacker room. He excelled tonight and it was fun to watch him fly around.”

Carter said he wanted to respond.

“The word was just respond, the whole week. Just respond,” Carter said. “Whatever that looked like. Respond and be more physical. I think we did that tonight. They (the coaches) challenged us to respond after the loss and we did that tonight. That was God. That was nothing, but God. My teammates put me in a great position. Coach (Wes Goodwin) made some great calls that opened it up for me.”

Carter ended one Louisville drive with a fourth-quarter interception, and also hurdled a Louisville running back on the way to one of his two sacks. His hurdle – which showed off his athleticism – was the second hurdle of the game for a Clemson player. Running back Will Shipley also hurdled a Louisville player on his way to a 25-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

“I got the hurdle from him,” Carter said of Shipley. “The running back was cutting me the whole game, so I knew I was setting it up where I could hurdle him. It worked out because I got the sack. But that play was insane, by Ship.”

Even head coach Dabo Swinney was impressed with Carter’s play.

“As I have told you guys many times, he is one of the best football players I have seen in my twenty years at Clemson,” Swinney said. “Pure football player. The guy can play anything. He can play tailback. He can play corner. He can play nickel. He can play MIKE. He can play SAM. He can play safety. He is special. In high school, they played him everywhere. He is so smart and has unbelievable instincts.”