If you want to win SEC titles you're going to need to take care of business up front, something the Bulldogs haven't always done in the last few years. Kirby Smart and his staff took another step toward remedying that this morning with the signing of Jackson High defensive tackle Michail Carter.
Recruiting services have ranked Carter as a four-star prospect. 247 sports slots him as the number 14 player in the state of Georgia and the number 15 defense of tackle prospect in the country. If anything, I think this might undersell Carter a bit. Take a look at the list of schools who have offered him. You know how I normally run through that list in articles like this? I'm not doing it here because I would have to list almost every major college football program in the country. Carter is one of those prospects who almost every college football coach in America can see as a contributor on the next level.
Let's look at how they reached that assessment.
for alignment, the game of football is largely played from the waist down. It's about his band, and foot quickness/placement. Carter has great feet, and is surprisingly nimble to be 6'4, 310 pounds. So nimble that it's easy to see him as either a nose in a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme, or as an end in the 3-4 schemes Coach Smart became known for at Alabama. Smart prefers a "multiple" defense with players who can move around depending on the needs of the week's game plan. Carter is a guy who gives you that kind of flexibility up front. He also has good hands, punches well, and sheds contact to hustle to the ball. In most areas of life, including football, there's just no substitute for hustle.
This afternoon Georgia hopes to get a commitment from Lanier High defensive tackle Derrick Brown, though recent reports seem to indicate that Brown's long relationship with Rodney Garner may pull him toward Auburn. Getting Carter does not replace Brown, but it's safe to say that if Georgia does not lock up another defensive lineman today the Bulldogs will have still put together an excellent group to go with the solid haul from 2015. Welcome Michail! And ....
Go 'Dawgs!!!