Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
6 6 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 3 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / of his understanding of how to play, his understanding of assignments, know- ing what people around him are doing, a really big step a lot of players take is understanding offenses. Being able to understand backfield sets, understand splits with wide receivers, alignment with the tight ends, those types of things — that will clue you in on what's going to happen, so you're not just reacting, you're anticipating what you'll see from the offense." There's still another level after that one, and it involves helping out your teammates. "The last step with a guy like Abdul is, how do you make the people around you better?" Diaz said. "That's not just by being productive. You make people around you better by communicating. Communicating comes back to what I said in step two. My confidence in what's going on allows a player to say, 'Hey, watch the counter,' or, 'Yeah, it's a pass.' Those types of things, I think, are really where he knows he's got plenty of room to grow." Getting Up To Speed Carter has taken all of that to heart. He's participated in winter workouts and spring practice and has logged hours of film study. He enters Year 2 with a bet- ter understanding both of Diaz's de- fense and what offenses are doing. That knowledge, combined with his talent, should cause problems for opposing of- fensive coordinators this fall. "It will allow me to play even faster," Carter said. "I won't be out here just guessing or not really knowing what's going to come. Now, I'll be able to antici- pate what the offense is going to run so I can react even faster." The other noteworthy aspect of Cart- er's fastball is … well … speed. He turned in an On3-verified 4.5-second 40-yard dash during his recruitment, which was significantly better than the average for top-300 linebackers over the past three years (4.8). "Obviously, my speed is very helpful for me just in everything I do," Carter said. "My instinct, and my natural ability to just get to the ball, in pass rushing or in the run game, or just running to the ball period, is it." It may not be entirely fair to Carter to draw comparisons so early in his ca- reer to player like Parsons, a consensus All-American turned NFL All-Pro. But the similarities are difficult to ignore. The two linebackers play a similar style, are of a similar build, and even wear the same number. And just as Parsons elic- ited high expectations heading into his Carter is hoping to be the cornerstone of a defense that lifts PSU into the College Football Playoff this fall. "Being elite is fine," he said, "but we want to get to that point where we're special again." PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE