After holding off the Colorado Buffaloes to secure his commitment last winter, all of Tennessee Football was waiting for Boo Carter to become a household name. Perspective had to kick in, though, and we all had to remember that he is just a true freshman who wasn’t ready to start full-time before the bye week.
Since then, though, Carter has been seeing more and more action, and he finally had his breakout game last Saturday against the Florida Gators. At a point where Vols fans are desperately waiting for Nico Iamaleava to live up to his hype, Carter is beginning to live up to his on the other side of the ball.
Against Florida, Carter had a sack and one and a half tackles for a loss en route to earning SEC co-Freshman of the Week honors. Meanwhile, he had a 66.5 PFF grade while Andre Turrentine had a 35.7. It’s clear that Carter is ready to step in at that STAR position for Tennessee Football with Christian Harrison out.
With the Alabama Crimson Tide coming to town this week, Carter will face an even tougher test in Jalen Milroe. Will Brooks and Jeremiah Telander will be responsible for containing him, but Carter is a guy who will have to join another player with his namesake, linebacker Arion Carter, in making plays.
Both Carters were highly touted recruits, in fact, and indeed, Arion Carter was in the same year as Iamaleava, just on the other side of the ball. It’s easy to see why there is so much excitement surrounding this program even with the ugly wins with these guys helping out the defense.
Still, Arion Carter was ready to go from the start. Boo Carter is just now getting ready to go, and it’s at the perfect time. The heart and energy he plays with is exactly what Tennessee Football will need to somehow pull it off against Bama on Saturday.
One of the big things helping Boo Carter is the fact that Jermod McCoy is a lockdown cornerback for the Vols on one side while Rickey Gibson III is a solid corner on the other. That type of help is crucial to allowing aggressive players to make big plays at STAR and safety.
There’s no reason to wait for that to happen with Carter. Tennessee Football may have to wait for Iamaleava to develop, but Carter has the right help, so he should be able to build on those big plays he made last week. The freshman has arrived, and it’s time for Josh Heupel to utilize him.
