Carter pushing to be the 'next great' Clemson linebacker

Carter made an impact in his first start at Pitt last week.

by Zachary Wagner - Correspondent - Wed Oct 27 12:32:03 GMT-04:00 2021

It’s not often that a true freshman sees significant playing time on Brent Venables' Clemson defense. Freshmen might see time on the field once the game has gotten out of hand, with Venables and head coach Dabo Swinney always being ones to build experience through throwing young players in the fire and getting game reps early in the season, often during non-conference games.

This has not been the case this season with some of the freshmen along the Clemson defense. Due to injuries to some key contributors, some new names have received plenty of playing time so far this season. Safety Andrew Mukuba arrived on campus in the spring and linebacker Barrett Carter in the summer, and now both are starting players on one of the best defenses in the country.

Carter started his first career game last week in Clemson’s 27-17 loss to Pitt, recording five tackles and a pass breakup against the Panthers. While Carter is still learning the defense, he credits watching film and his elder linebackers for him being able to take the next step and contribute to the Clemson defense.

“I think it's the more time in the film room I spend and the more knowledge I learn from (James) Skalski and Baylon (Spector) that are really helping,” said Carter. “Coming in during the summer, it’s a lot to process and those guys taking me under their wing and helping me learn more is helping me get on the field more.”

“It’s really like having two or three more Coach Venables out there when the fifth and sixth-year guys are out there. They have definitely made the process much easier with learning the defense.”

Carter isn’t the first highly-ranked linebacker recruit to step foot into Tiger Town under Venables. Isaiah Simmons, Dorian O’Daniel and Mike Jones Jr. are all talented linebackers that have come before Carter, and they are the names that made him sign his Letter of Intent to play for the Tigers.

“Seeing what he’s (Venables) done with past players in my position is crazy,” Carter said. “Isaiah Simmons, Dorian O’Daniel and Mike Jones and seeing what he’s done with them in a versatile way, as a recruit that is what makes you want to come play for him and learn under him. I want to be the next great one to come out of Clemson.”

“I think Isaiah (Simmons) changed the culture around football,” Carter said of the Butkus Award Winner. “I think at the NFL Combine they asked him what position he saw himself playing and he just said, ‘defense.’ You’re not really going to hear that from anybody else unless they can play the position at a very high level. He really changed the game with his versatility and being able to line up wherever and making plays wherever he is on the field.”

Carter was the second-ranked linebacker in his class and the fourth-best player in the state of Georgia as a recruit. Being one of the best players on the field at any given time was usual for him in high school, but he quickly learned that would not be the case in college.

“I would really say that during summer and seeing the intensity in the weight room,” Carter said when asked when he realized high school would be different from college football. “On the field, everything you do here is very intense. The meetings are intense, the weight room is intense, the conditioning is really intense. That’s when it really hit me that this is going to be different. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and a big adjustment, but I really noticed it in the weight room.”

When Carter stepped on the field during the Tigers’ season-opening game against Georgia back in September, he became the first player in Clemson history to wear the number zero in a game.

“When I got here I asked Coach Swinney if he had any single-digit numbers and he said zero was the only one,” Carter said. “So I said 'I’ll take it,' and here we are. I wanted that number.”

Carter and the Clemson defense will be back in action this weekend when they return home to take on Florida State. Clemson has won five straight in the series against the Seminoles. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.