Boo Carter is hard not to notice.
Even before he arrived on campus in December, the Tennessee Class 6A Mr. Football turned Vols freshman defensive back was all over the field at Bradley Central High School, returning kicks, eluding tacklers in open field on offense while not letting much get past him on defense.
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Carter racked up more than 1,700 all-purpose yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior before inking with Tennessee and early enrolling. The abilities that made him a highly sought after prospect haven't escaped him in the last five months.
"Boo is great energy all the time. He is a guy that is always 100 miles per hour," Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. "I think as he continues to grow in our program, he will continue to get a little bit more mature. We definitely like what he brings from a football perspective. He is a kid that works hard and wants to do well. He has shown some maturity, but I think you will see more once he gets his feet wet a little bit."
Carter turned heads in spring practices and has evidently done much of the same one week into fall camp as he looks to make an impact on a Tennessee secondary that underwent a transformation in the offseason--one that could get him on the field early.
Carter is one of a number of newcomers to the Vols' defense, including transfer additions Jakobe Thomas and Jermod McCoy.
"(The new players in the secondary) are able to pick up on the playbook. We're able to discuss more than just regular plays with them," Gibson said. "I can tell them a coverage and they're asking more about the coverage. Like, what happens when he motions? What happens if there's a check, or something like that.
"For them to be able to pick up on the playbook and go more into depth on the playoff, I can see where they're coming from."
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Carter moved around between every secondary position in the spring, but is trending heavily towards playing at STAR where the Vols lost Tamarion McDonald and Warren Burrell to injury and then the transfer portal after last season.
The position, which acts as a kind of corner, safety and outside linebacker hybrid and is important to Tennessee's 4-3 defensive scheme, requires the kind of speed that Carter showed as a four-star prospect and through 17 practices going back to the spring.
He adds important depth that the Vols didn't have there a year ago, too.
"Different places I have been, sometimes it has been more cornerish. Some places it has been more hybrid," Banks said. "I think here we have had the luxury to do a little bit of both. But that position is extremely important. We ask them to do a lot from a coverage perspective. But they also have to be great blitzers. They have to be able to get off blocks. We really worked hard between Jourdan Thomas and Christian Harrison and Boo Carter...
"They are good athletes. They are tough guys. They also have some cover ability. It is probably one of the more challenging positions on our defense and I am super excited about the three guys I just mentioned."
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Vols' Braylon Staley picking up where he left off in fall camp
Braylon Staley, another freshman that is vying for early playing time at wide receiver, has seen Carter's coverage ability first hand.
The two came to Tennessee at the same time, going through practices leading up to the Citrus Bowl and going head-to-head in the spring and now in the fall. It's a match up that has provided coaches with a glimpse of the future at both positions.
“He's got love for the game," Staley said. "We both came in in the spring and ever since then, we’ve just been going at it...He gets me sometimes, I get him sometimes."
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– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.
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