Zachary Carter’s high school career was exactly what you’d expect from a collegiate superstar and a surging NFL prospect — the defensive lineman’s stat sheet was only bested by his offer list as he led Hillsborough High to an 8-0 start in 2016.
In all, the third-ranked strong-side defensive end for the 2017 class attracted 28 offers, including ones from college football juggernauts Clemson, Alabama, and Ohio State.
The G-wagons and the McDonald’s bags littering the college recruiting landscape couldn’t compete with Carter’s childhood dreams of donning orange and blue, however, and the lifelong Gator fan committed to UF ahead of his senior season.
Carter faced a volatile first four years in Gainesville, often being used as a utility player across a Florida defensive line lacking in talent and depth. But now, after returning to his home on the field at defensive end, Carter will make his long-awaited return to Tampa Saturday as the Gators travel down I-75 to take on USF.
“I've been waiting for this game,” Carter said. “I haven't played a game back home in like five years. So I'm excited to get out there, in front of the home crowd. Got a lot of people trying to come support me so I'm just excited to get out there.”
Carter looks a bit different since the last time he took the field in the 813 — the senior has added more than 40 pounds of muscle to his already imposing frame since arriving in Gainesville — but he’s the same selfless, likable, and supremely talented athlete that starred in Tampa four years ago.
Growing up in north Tampa, just a few miles from Raymond James Stadium, Carter was raised under the influence of his engineer father and sported a glowing personality from a young age.
“He was always a high character guy,” high school coach Earl Garcia said. “That was never a concern with him.”
Garcia recalls that Carter was a dominant two-sport athlete in high school, earning the Tampa Bay Times’ Blue Chips Player of the Year recognition in 2016 and averaging nearly a double-double in the post for Hillsborough’s basketball team. But beyond all the accolades and success Garcia remembers an athlete with a smile etched in stone and a great, team-first attitude.
Carter appeared in nine games as a redshirt freshman, and his selfless attitude played a bigger role than aptitude or athleticism in him seeing the field. As Florida struggled to find healthy players to slot in at defensive tackle, Carter moved away from his preferred edge rusher position to move into the interior.
He took the pivot in stride, immediately setting up shop in the weight room and adding 40 pounds to compete with the ugly mollies of the SEC.
These sacrifices truly paid dividends in Carter’s junior season, where he exploded onto the scene and became one of the SEC’s best defensive players. He led the Gators in both sacks (5) and tackles-for-loss (9.5) and led all UF linemen with 35 total tackles last season.
Carter took permanent residence in the FAU backfield on Saturday, racking up a career-high three sacks and earning Co-SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors. However, the redshirt senior still wasn’t satisfied with his eye-popping stat line against the Owls, believing that the whole defense needed to play better.
“I mean, after that performance, I just, in my mind, I got to keep building off of that,” Carter said. “You know, I can’t get complacent, I can’t get satisfied with that performance. I came back for a reason so I got to continue to build off of that, and you know I'm on a mission, so I got to complete it.”
The versatile lineman still projects to see a number of snaps at his adopted defensive tackle position this season, but he will also return to his more natural edge rusher position opposite of Brenton Cox Jr. in 2021. And while Carter has shown exceptional ability at both positions, most NFL scouts, along with coach Garcia, project him to stand out as a defensive end in the NFL.
“I definitely see him as an edge rusher at the next level,” Garcia said. “I mean he’s just so damn athletic.”
Carter has led a college career with few missteps and missed opportunities — he’s a strong senior season away from cracking the top 10 for all-time sack leaders at UF and projected to pass 40 career appearances for the Gators — but Saturday he will realize a dream more than a decade in the making.
With the Bay Area Raiders, Carter’s first pee-wee football team, he and his teammates were denied from playing the city championship at Raymond Jones Stadium by a heartbreaking defeat. Now that Carter makes his grand homecoming with the heavily-favored Gators, he wants to make sure everyone witnesses his retribution.
“My teammates think I’m crazy asking for so many tickets,” Carter said. “My Mom sent me a list of 30, so I’ll tell you that off the bat. That’s not including the people that asked me. So if I can get 40, I’ll take it.”
