It hasn’t taken long for Boo Carter to make an impression during his first fall camp.
Carter, the 5-foot-11 four-star recruit from the Chattanooga area, entered fall camp as a true freshman looking to carve out a position with Tennessee’s new-look secondary. The Vols saw several departures from the secondary room this past offseason, opening up new opportunities for returning players, newcomers, and portal additions alike.
While he was a true athlete on both sides of the ball for Bradley Central High School, Carter began his Tennessee career on the defensive side of the ball with the defensive backs. After nearly two weeks of practice, Carter has seemingly been trending toward the STAR position, especially in the wake of Jourdan Thomas’s season-ending injury.
“Christian Harrison and Boo Carter are taking the bulk of the reps,” Vols DB coach Willie Martinez said about Tennessee’s STAR safety competition. “We know in the back of our minds that we have others that have played the position, whether it’s Will Brooks. We have the versatility, whether it’s Andre Turrentine. With the two guys right now that are competing at this (point are) Christian and Boo and they’re doing a really good job.”
With Thomas penciled in as Tennessee’s most likely starting STAR this season, the Vols will now be looking for another individual to step up and earn the role.
Carter’s work ethic and athleticism on the field have impressed his head coach as camp has gone on.
“Boo’s played really well,” Heupel said after the Vols’ first fall scrimmage Friday. “I thought the last couple days even leading into the scrimmage have been his best day just within the scope of what we do defensively, playing within the framework of that and making plays at the same time. He’s a young guy that needs to and will continue to get better every day, but he’s a dynamic playmaker.”
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The obvious obstacle for Carter leading up to his first fall season is inexperience. While he was a phenom on the recruiting trail, that was against high school competition less than a year ago. But Carter has shown the natural traits that it takes to potentially make an impact on Tennessee’s defense in his first collegiate season.
Even before the practices and scrimmages of the fall, though, Carter had his coaches excited. Carter was ranked as the No. 5 athlete in the 2024 recruiting class and showed off that athleticism early and often during the Vols’ spring and summer workouts.
Defensive coordinator Tim Banks spoke highly of Carter’s energy on the field, which has only increased this fall based on various reports.
“Yeah, Boo is great energy all the time,” Banks said to open up Tennessee’s fall camp. “He is a guy that is always 100 miles per hour. 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.”
There’s no doubt that Carter has been an impressive young player for Tennessee as he goes through his first fall camp. Only time will tell if Carter becomes Tennessee’s starting STAR at any point in the season, but it does look like he is doing the right things to put himself in a position to make an impact in some form.
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