Freshman defensive back Boo Carter ranks among Tennessee’s top five tacklers and is averaging 16.5 yards on punt returns.
What if there is room for more?
Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava certainly touched on that topic after the Volunteers routed UTEP 56-0 last Saturday afternoon when he said this: “I know how special he is with the ball in his hands. Hopefully, we can get him on offense in a little bit.”
Carter on offense? Now that is some offseason food for thought.
“He would be just as good as he is on defense,” Vols sixth-year senior receiver Bru McCoy said earlier this week on “Sport Talk” on WGOW 102.3 FM. “The kid is just a great athlete, and he’s got the ability to do whatever. It will be interesting to see if or how he gets moved around next year.
“I know I’ll be watching.”
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Carter, who starred for Chattanooga Christian during the 2021-22 seasons and for Bradley Central last year, was a do-it-all threat in high school and is doing more and more each week for Tennessee. He has compiled 34 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack, and he had an interception earlier this month against Mississippi State.
Such numbers should be worthy of Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team laurels.
“Obviously he’s done a really good job,” Vols secondary coach Willie Martinez said earlier this week in a news conference. “He’s been here since last December and went through our bowl practices, and he knows our defense a lot better now. You can see that with all the confidence going back to his pick that he had a couple of weeks ago.
“That was really just an investment of time and understanding and what’s about to happen here in this formation and this situation. He hasn’t arrived yet, nor do we think anybody in his first year would, but we don’t see him as a young player anymore.”
Carter has started all four of Tennessee’s games this month at the “star” position, and he is expected to get his fifth start Saturday when the Vols (9-2, 5-2 SEC) challenge Vanderbilt (6-5, 3-4) in Nashville. ABC will televise the matchup at noon Eastern.
Tennessee, No. 8 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, likely would clinch a spot in the inaugural 12-team edition of the playoff with a win over the Commodores, who are bowl eligible for the first time since 2018.
The Vols are reaching the finish line of their regular season ranked sixth nationally in total defense (allowing 284.3 yards per game) and fourth in scoring defense (13.1 points allowed per game), with Carter having played a prominent role.
“We are not surprised in the things that he can do,” Martinez said, “but the thing about the star position is that he’s got to set the defense. He’s got to set up the alignments, and he’s getting a lot more comfortable in doing that. We’ve actually been diving into the package even further with him whereas we had to be very careful early on. That’s the great thing about it. We’ve all grown on defense.
“He’s playing a lot more confidently. You can see it. He could see the formation right now and dive into a situation. He knows what kind of play is coming.”
Carter added punt-return responsibilities earlier this month and has thrived on that front as well, with his 198 yards ranking among the top 20 totals nationally. He has just 12 returns, which aren’t enough to qualify for the NCAA statistics — otherwise, his 16.5-yard average would rank among the top five in the country.
“He has a gift in catching the football and what he does after catching it,” Martinez said. “He has a great knack for that and great instincts.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.