CLEMSON — When Barrett Carter’s high school coaches told him they were moving him from running back to linebacker prior to his sophomore season at North Gwinnett, he nearly quit football.

“I had been a running back and receiver my whole life, so the day I got switched I was so mad,” he said. “I was always bigger than everybody, so they just put me at running back and gave me the ball on every play.”

Luckily for Clemson, Carter did not stay mad for too long. In fact, he started to enjoy playing linebacker the next day.

What changed his mind about changing positions?

“The next day I got my first offer,” Carter said while laughing. “Obviously, when you are in high school, you always dream about getting scholarships.”

At the point, North Gwinnett was going through spring drills and Carter had not had an offer. Then, the day after being moved to linebacker, he received his first scholarship offer.

“So, I was like, ‘Maybe I will stick with it.’ I will say that is when it all really came together for me and that I could play linebacker,” he said.

Carter became a really good high school linebacker. After embracing his new position, he went on to become a five-star product.

The Suwanee, Ga., native was recruited as the No. 17 overall player in the country, according to 247Sports, and the top rated player in the state of Georgia regardless of position.

He was a natural, as he received offers from Clemson, Alabama and Arizona to name a few.

Carter has continued to prosper at linebacker at Clemson. The First-Team All-ACC selection earned All-American honors last season, and this year he is projected to be one of the top linebackers in the 2024 NFL Draft.

In less than two and a half seasons at Clemson, Carter has recorded 129 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. This year, he is second on the team with 26 stops, 3.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and one sack.

Though he has not played the running back position in seven seasons, Carter admits that playing running back has helped him as a linebacker.

“It gives me a lot of insight,” he said. “I know how running backs think, especially when they have a defender approaching them.”

It especially helps when a running back is trying to protect their quarterback.

“I have never really heard of a running back who enjoys blocking a full-speed blitzing linebacker,” Carter said with a smile. “I always keep that in the back of my head whenever I am blitzing or about to make a tackle. It just helps me know what to expect.”

Carter moved to linebacker because the guy who was supposed to start that season, way back in 2018, decided to concentrate on baseball full-time.

“They had a spot open up at linebacker and they saw me as that guy who could play it,” Carter said. “So, they switched me to linebacker and thankfully, I got my first offer the next day or something.

“It was just crazy how it all worked out.”

And nobody is happier about it than Clemson.

“He is one of the best football players I have had in my twenty years at Clemson. He is just a pure football player. The guy can play anywhere,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.

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