It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. On May 18, Class of 2021 Inside Linebacker Barrett Carter tweeted “I will be announcing my commitment tomorrow, my mother’s birthday at 6:50 pm EST on Fox 5 News. God Bless and see y’all then!”
On May 19, with his family by his side, Carter officially announced his commitment to the Clemson Tigers. Nearing the end of his recruitment he was being heavily recruited by both Georgia and Clemson, and one of the last visits he was able to make before COVID-19 shutdowns was to the Tigers.
In a recent interview, he elaborated on his decision saying, “I could visit Clemson a million times and I would still have butterflies before every visit.”
OPPORTUNITIES
Since the 6’2”, 210-pound, 4-star linebacker from Georgia received his first offer in the spring of 2018, he has accumulated a total of 56 Division 1 offers.
In February, he announced that his Top 11 was composed of Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, Ohio State, and Oklahoma.
When asked how he arrived at these 11 particular schools, Carter said, “It really just came down to 11 because I had the best relationship with those schools. If I had felt the best about 8, it would have been 8. It could have been 2. It just happened to be 11 that I feel could end up being the best school for me.”
Ranked as a Top 5 overall player in the state of Georgia by most media outlets, there is no question as to why he is on the wanted list of many of the top programs in the country.
EFN EVALUATION
Barrett is an elite athlete as an outside linebacker and has the speed to fly around off the edge as a pass rusher and in coverage. His fast-twitch explosive traits cause a lot of problems for opposing offenses. Barrett is strong and powerful shooting the inside gaps and can take on bigger offensive linemen, or elusive enough to avoid them altogether.
Off the edge, he is relentless pursuing the football from the weakside. He can drop into coverage and easily defend over the middle. As a tackler, Barrett runs through ball carriers and has the range to take away sweeps and bubbles on the outside.
DEFENSIVE DUO
At North Gwinnett High School, he has been widely known as ½ of the best defensive duo in the region alongside his best friend and fellow Clemson commit, cornerback Jordan Hancock.
Carter also earned 2019 postseason honors including 1st Team All-State Defense and 1st Team All-Metro Defense.
POWERHOUSE PROGRAM
The North Gwinnett Bulldogs ended their 2019 season with an overall 9-1 record, and in the last game of the season against Lowndes, Carter recorded 5 solo tackles and 9 total tackles.
Although the future of fall football is up in the air due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter is hopeful he will get to finish what he started at North Gwinnett and looks forward to the next time he can step on a field. The Bulldogs will tentatively kick-off their 2020 season against McEachern at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
