Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/83706
Kyle Carter makes a quick ascent to become one of PSU's top young pass-catchers FLEX TIME followed the breakout performance with four catches for 33 yards and a touchdown at Virginia. The linebackers said that effort didn't come as a sur- prise, either. Having spent the previous month at- P tempting to defend their teammate, a unique flex-tight end/receiver hybrid, they knew opponents would be facing a similar challenge. "In camp, I went against him a lot. He's challenging. He's a really good wide receiver and runs really good routes," sophomore linebacker Mike Hull said. After a pause, Hull added sheepishly, "He beat me a couple of times. ... He's pretty good." Carter's emergence as the Nittany Lions' second-leading receiver early this season is partly a surprise, though. As a true freshman last year, he was buried on the depth chart. Even en- tering spring practice in March, he wasn't considered much of a threat to more-experienced tight ends like Garry Gilliam and Kevin Haplea. In the Blue- White Game, true freshman Jesse James had two catches for 24 yards | enn State's linebackers weren't surprised when Kyle Carter opened the season with six catches for 74 yards against Ohio. The Nittany Lions' redshirt freshman while Carter didn't record a statistic. Still, with head coach Bill O'Brien installing a new, pass-heavy offense featuring multiple tight end sets, Carter saw an opportunity. "I was probably one of the most happy people in the world at that time. I was excited," Carter said. "People were texting me saying, 'Oh, you got a tight end coach,' and all of that. But I still had a lot to do. I wasn't the top tight end or anything. I still had a lot of work to do to even get to a position where he would be using me in the game. "My mind-set after that was just on doing what I had to do to get up the depth chart and just being able to play." O'Brien had already noticed, though. From the outset, O'Brien said he had an idea what he had in the versatile 6- foot-4, 245-pound flex tight end. "I noticed right away that he was a playmaker and that he had really good hands and he understood how to run routes. It was very instinctive," he said. "I noticed right away that he was a very bright guy, very smart. He could pick up the schemes at a rapid pace, which is tough." Seeing the potential, O'Brien piled on the responsibilities. Carter handled so many roles through the spring that once O'Brien released REACHING OUT Carter lunges for a pass in the end zone in Penn State's game against Navy. Through three games, the freshman tight end was second on the team with 11 catches for 120 yards.