Josh Heupel called the true freshman a “dynamic playmaker” following Mississippi State game
Knoxville, Tenn. – Tennessee’s Boo Carter is coming off one of the best games of his young career after Mississippi State.
His production could prove to be key in giving the Vols a burst against Georgia.
Carter’s impact started right away against Mississippi State. A short pass from quarterback Michael Van Buren went nowhere as Carter flew in and made the tackle behind the line of scrimmage for a TFL and loss of one on the play.
Defensive Coordinator Tim Banks expressed how proud he is of how hard Carter’s been working. Banks emphasized how Carter just ‘gets it.’
The level of physicality Carter plays with is merely a reflection of his passion for the game.
“I’ve been putting in the work at practice on like important details to the game,” said Carter. “I just got the passion for the game. I mean, I like defense, I mean the contact. I mean, I like to hit.”
That passion is on display every play and game, where following a crucial tackle Carter pops back up with a firey yet brief celebration.
The freshman also came up with his first interception of the season and returned it a of couple yards to State’s 9-yard line. Unfortunately, Tennessee’s offense wasn’t able to capitalize on that game-changing play and was stopped at the goal line.
Of course, Carter was hoping he’d reached the checkered end zone, but he lightheartedly said he couldn’t see through his defensive lineman and couldn’t determine where to go. So he was satisfied that he was able to make that type of play in the first place.
Will Brooks who has had a couple of interceptions of his own this season was really impressed with Carter’s ability to read the offense and make a play on the ball.
“He made a, he made a great play on the ball,” said Brooks. “Just picked it off, and, you know, tried to return it. Yeah, it was, it was a great play, though, by him, is good that he got his first pick. Super excited for him.”
Carter possibly impressed the most in Week 9 with his production on special teams.
We’ve seen several players take their turn with punt returns and Carter made a strong case for him to be the guy moving forward.
He had multiple 20+ yard returns.
His best return may have come at the end of the first half where he returned it 23 yards to help set the offense up for a field goal as time expired.
As compared to the previous Vols this season who have had the chance, he waived his hand for a fair catch the fewest. Now, he said he doesn’t have a “green light” to just try and return it every time, but more or so has built the confidence and trust with his coaches over the last month to have the freedom to return kicks at his discretion.
Sometimes the reward or opportunity doesn’t come as quickly as we think it should, but you could tell Carter was more than ready for his chance.
“I mean I just keep the offense from being better than endzone,” said Carter. “I was trying to return every one so they (offense) won’t be backed up. But I don’t really got a green light, but it’s better for me to catch it and get some yards for the offense.”
That decision-making hightled the high-stakes part of the role as a punt returner.
“As a returner, because that’s essentially a quarterback back there and commanding and controlling and being a decision maker, and just continued to grow,” said head coach Josh Heupel. “And saw (Saturday night), man, he’s dynamic with it in his hands, and so it was awesome to get that from him (Saturday night).
Brooks who’s also splashed onto the scene this season got his start on special teams. I asked the DB how those opportunities translate to success in other areas of your game.
“Special teams is a great way to get on the field and show you can make plays at this level,” said Brooks. “It definitely helped me just getting experience and getting the speed of the game down and going against SEC guys week in and week out. Just getting game speed and building confidence in yourself that you can make plays.”
Squirrel White is also one of those guys who’s appeared on special teams, especially last year was simply impressed with Carter in Week 9.
“I mean, special. Boo Carter. That’s it,” said White.
Tennessee linebacker, Jeremiah Telander also reacted to Carter’s performance and the impact he had on the game.
“Boo came (Saturday), and he played his tail off. He’s been making those plays every single day in practice, and that’s nothing new to him. His play came and he made it so shout out to boo,” said Telander.
Following the win over State, Josh Heupel highlighted what made Carter so dynamic throughout the game.
“In a short amount of time here, you just keep stacking days and weeks, and it doesn’t always happen when you want it to happen, but it will happen. And I think Boo’s just consistency, really, over the last month has really, you know, gained the trust from everybody on our staff, to for him to go operate the way he did (Saturday night) in that position,” said Heupel.
The ceiling is incredibly high for the true freshman. With a defense showing some cracks against the run, having a guy like Carter at the STAR will be crucial in supporting the rush defense against Georgia.
