Clemson continued its impressive 2021 recruiting haul on Tuesday, landing ESPN 300 linebacker Barrett Carter, the No. 104 ranked recruit overall.
Carter, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker, out of North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia, chose the Tigers over Auburn, Georgia and Ohio State. He is the No. 12 ranked prospect in the state of Georgia, and gives Clemson another top-tier defender in its class.
“The thing is with Clemson, I could visit Clemson a million times and before each visit I’ll have butterflies the whole visit,” Carter said. “I had a really good feeling every time I was there and I think that feeling can’t go unnoticed. I think that really did it for me, but obviously the football and academics are top tier, but that feeling I had put it over the top.”
Another part of the decision for Carter was his relationship with defensive coordinator Brent Venables and the results Venables and the Clemson defense have produced over the last few seasons.
Being part of a successful defensive unit and having a shot at making it to the NFL were both factors in why Clemson came out on top.
“They want me to fill the role of Isaiah Simmons, it’s called the cheetah position,” Carter said. “It’s really exciting, but I want to start my own legacy and I want to try to be better than he was. Clemson, they’re known for sending dudes to the league, and that’s my goal.”
He was looking for a school that would give him an opportunity on the field and in the classroom, as Carter says he either wants to go into entrepreneurship, sports management or sports broadcasting, and he felt Clemson gave him everything he was looking for.
While a lot of the top schools have similar aspects to offer, the level of comfort and excitement, combined with the opportunity, helped push things over the top. Part of that feeling, Carter believes, is created by the way Clemson recruits.
“You can look at how many offers they’ve sent out and they’re near the bottom of the list,” Carter said. “They’ve given out some of the least amount of offers. They’re really selective in how they recruit, they don’t offer everyone and so just to even have the offer is a blessing.”
Carter was one of the select few to receive a Clemson offer and now he is adding to the No. 4 ranked class overall. With the talented linebacker on board, the Tigers now have 11 total commits, 10 of whom are ranked in the top 300.
Maybe more impressively, nine of the 10 are ranked inside the top 150 of the ESPN 300. That includes five-star linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Will Shipley, the No. 2 ranked running back in the class, the No. 3 ranked receiver, Beaux Collins and the No. 1 ranked tight end in Jake Briningstool.
Carter is the fourth defensive commit in the ESPN 300 for Clemson with Trotter, defensive end Cade Denhoff and cornerback Jordan Hancock. That number should grow on the defensive side, however, and Carter is now looking to help his future coaches add to the list of defensive commitments.
“I’m going to start recruiting; I asked Coach Venables and Coach (Dabo) Swinney, who are the top guys we want,” Carter said. “I’m going to hit them up, see how they’re feeling and try to recruit them to Clemson. I’m looking at defensive ends right now with Korey Foreman, Monkell Goodwine amd Dallas Turner, dudes like that.”