If Tennessee defensive back Boo Carter can truly have an impact on offense, he’ll become one of the most memorable Vols of all time.
Carter won’t likely go down as one of Tennessee’s all-time best defensive backs, receivers or punt returners, but that doesn’t matter. There’s just something special about a player who can excel in all phases of the game. That’s what Carter is aiming for.
The former Chattanooga preps star (on both sides of the ball) would join some pretty exclusive company if he can have a serious impact on offense and defense. Mark Jones was the last to do so at Tennessee, playing for the Vols from 2000 to 2003 before a nine-year career in the NFL. Although Jones wasn’t huge, he played big.
At 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, Jones began his Tennessee career at receiver and then was utilized as a kick/punt returner and defensive back. He excelled at all three.
Jones caught 36 passes for 556 yards and five touchdowns as a senior. He also ran the ball seven times for 65 yards, returned 46 punts for 543 yards and a touchdown during his career and had five kickoff returns for 138 yards and a touchdown. However, he didn’t handle that kickoff return duties as a senior.
Defensive back was definitely Jones’ best position, but he was good enough to play offense and defense in the NFL. If Carter can match that, then the Vols are onto something.
Jones would certainly be considered a rare commodity. Most players that come into college playing two positions end up playing just one. Jones kept producing in multiple spots. The biggest challenge for Jones?
“Conditioning is the hardest part,” he said in 2003. “I’m exhausted in practice now, and we haven’t even touched special teams in practice yet.”
Perhaps Tennessee’s most talented receiver of all time, former Vol Carl Pickens, began his UT career as a safety. He was pretty good there, nabbing Freshman All-American and All-SEC honors in 1989. He also caught seven passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
Pickens was destined to be a receiver. He caught 109 passes for 1,875 yards and 13 touchdowns before being taken in the second round of the NFL Draft.
There are a couple of lessons to be learned when looking at those two former Vols. First, both players were needed on defense first and foremost. Tennessee coaches have to ask themselves if Carter is truly needed on offense or if he is just a luxury. If the latter is the case, Tennessee could be playing with fire. They don’t want a tired Carter playing in the Vols’ secondary. Then, there’s a bigger question. Why does Tennessee need Carter on offense in the first place? Well, that’s complicated.
Let’s keep in mind that Carter wants to play receiver, surely lobbied for the role and had more leverage than Jones or Pickens thanks to the transfer portal, so it’s not that the Vols absolutely needed Carter on offense. However, they could certainly use him after losing so much skill-position production from last season’s team. Still, as Tennessee coach Josh Heupel enters his fifth season, I can’t help but wonder why the Vols don’t have more overall talent on their roster.
Carter could probably be an All-American on defense. Tennessee’s coaches and Carter had better not lose sight of that fact. The Vols would be better off with one great defensive back as opposed to a fatigued, average receiver and defensive back. Other than Jones, who admittedly, struggled with the load, there hasn’t been two-way players excel at Tennessee – and for good reason.
