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Versatility a Key Weapon with Carter in the Secondary
10/9/2019 4:25:00 PM | Football
This story originally ran in the 2019 edition of the Duke Football Yearbook -- Aug. 2019
Duke's defensive backfield during the David Cutcliffe era has featured some superb corner backs known for lockdown coverage, such as Ross Cockrell, Breon Borders and Mark Gilbert. There have been some equally proficient safeties known for their bone-jarring ability to stop the run and force turnovers, most notably Matt Daniels and Jeremy Cash.
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But when it comes to the model defensive back that the Blue Devils now focus on in recruiting, current junior Michael Carter II just might be the prototype. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound product of the Atlanta metro area can play corner and safety, and has done so at a high level on game day during his first two years at Duke. In fact, with his combination of physical gifts and intellectual acuity, he can play any of the five spots in the secondary, from field or boundary corner to rover, bandit or strike safety.
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"When we define recruiting a defensive back at Duke, he's what we're talking about," says co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri. "It's not safety- or corner-specific — he has the ability to run, cover and tackle. That's what we're looking for, and when you have guys like that you can move them around and create matchups. It's fantastic to coach guys who have those traits and can play multiple positions."
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Guerrieri was the lead recruiter on Carter when the Blue Devils were courting him at South Paulding High School in Douglasville, Ga. Carter attended camp at Duke between his freshman and sophomore seasons and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. Duke was his first scholarship offer, and it didn't take him long to get on the field once he arrived in Durham, as he played in 12 games with two starts as a true freshman in 2017.
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Carter was used mostly as a strike safety that year — Duke's version of a nickel back or slot corner. The coaching staff wanted him ready to play the traditional corner positions last year so he got a heavy dose of instruction with assistant coach Derek Jones during preseason training last August.
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The move certainly paid off. Carter started the 2018 opener against Army at one corner, with preseason All-America Mark Gilbert at the other. In week two at Northwestern, he started at strike safety but then moved back to corner when Gilbert suffered a season-ending injury. He remained the starter at corner the rest of the year, other than the two games he had to sit with an injury.
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This year, he's been back working at strike safety again, but his versatility is a weapon that the Blue Devils won't hesitate to deploy.
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"If you've got a guy who can play both inside and outside, it's going to help the defense work better and help matchups," Carter says. "The way the season worked out, I stuck at corner last year, and now I'm back at strike safety. I'm sure I'll be outside and inside doing different things this season.
"I love it in the sense that I'm prepared to do anything they ask me to to help the team win. I like being able to play inside and be in on the runs and blitz. But also I like to press wide receivers off the ball and cover downfield too."
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The Northwestern game last year showed Carter at his best, in the face of adverse circumstances. He posted his season high of eight tackles, including one run stop at the line of scrimmage after he fought off a blocking tight end with a significant size advantage. He also had his season high of three pass breakups and snagged the first interception of his career — one that might have turned into a pick-six had he not stepped on the sideline during his return.
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On a day when Duke saw its best offensive player (QB Daniel Jones) and its top defensive back (Gilbert) go down to injury, the Blue Devils were still able to claim an important road victory over a team that went on to play in the Big Ten championship game. Carter's versatility played a huge role in that outcome.
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"That was a great example," Guerrieri says. "One of the things that's hardest to measure on a guy is how tough is he. You see Mike run and cover and do different things, but he's a really tough guy. We lean on those guys to be the heart and soul of what we try to do from a mentality standpoint."
Â
The mental side of the game is one of a couple of areas where Carter hopes to take another step forward this year. He credits that interception at Northwestern to some dedicated film study leading up to the game, pointing out that he recognized the route the receiver was going to run as soon as he lined up. He's looking for more mergers of the intellectual and physical in 2019.
Â
"A lot of football is instinctual, knowing when to turn around and look for the ball, knowing when to hit the ball out, things like that," says Carter, an Academic All-ACC pick. "I'm trying to become more of a cerebral player and know the game. Becoming a better film studier is definitely an area I'm working to improve. But I think more as I went from freshman year to sophomore year just understanding what's going on, what are the type of things that could happen… It's part of growing and understanding the game and understanding that at this level you need to have the mental part there."
Â
Leadership is another prime focal point for Carter, now that he is one of the more experienced players in the secondary with 23 games, 13 starts and 924 snaps to his credit. He's comfortable — and effective — in leading by example, but this season he's trying to add a more vocal element to his field presence.
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"It's definitely a challenge because I like to lead by action, that's my thing. The coaches have been getting on me about leading vocally.
Â
"I expect a lot out of myself, to perform at a high level and also push my teammates to perform at a high level. I know the coaches expect nothing less from me. Guys like me and Marquis (Waters), we have that experience and that playing time that a lot of people don't have yet. So it's important for us to be those vocal leaders."
Â
"Early on in a guy's career, he'll focus on getting himself better," says Guerrieri. "He'll focus on his position, and the ability to defend the pass from his position, defend the run from his position. It's a self-centered approach, and we teach it that way because you have to get that guy ready to be functional in the system. I don't care if it's a first-year DeVon Edwards, a first-year Jeremy Cash, a first-year Ross Cockrell. It doesn't matter.
Â
"As they mature and develop they become leaders, so his influence is not only on himself but on the guys around him. That's what Mike has done — he's a highly intelligent guy, he's compassionate, he's a trusted teammate, great relationships. Obviously you see the football skills he has on display on Saturdays, but those things you don't see behind the scenes, he's become a leader in that room of defensive backs."
Â
That room is full of familiar faces at this point in Carter's career. He is one of six defensive backs who signed in the 2017 recruiting class and all are now facing prominent roles. With the veteran Gilbert still recovering from his 2018 injury, four of the five starters in the defensive backfield could come from the same class — Carter and Waters at safety, and Josh Blackwell and Leonard Johnson at the corners. Damani Neal, who had eight tackles and a sack in the Independence Bowl, is in the mix for time at bandit safety with Waters, while Lummie Young IV is working at rover with senior Dylan Singleton, after starting in Singleton's place the final three games of 2018 due to injury.
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"I realized last year, with so many people going down, that this is the year our class, the 2017 class, has to step up and shine," Carter says. "And I think everybody in the class who got in had their moments and it was so vital because we needed everybody in our class to play like they did, and I think they did a great job.
                            Â
"There's definitely a class pride that we have, being on the field together. It's almost like it's becoming our team now, in a sense, going from the least experienced to some of the most experienced guys on the team. So we have to take over. A lot of guys in the class are becoming the guys who have to lead."
Â
Duke experienced so many injuries last year that the team's unofficial motto might have been "Next man up." Several of the guys who were the next man up last year are now on the front lines as the man up at their spot, and many of them are from Carter's 2017 class.
Â
"That is the definition of recruiting right there," Guerrieri notes. "You bring guys in and some make a difference in their first year, some make a difference in their second year. Here we are going into their third year and all those guys have blossomed into being meaningful contributors for us.
Â
"They've had a bunch of success on and off the field, who they are as people. It does nothing but make you smile when you see, here's the plan we had and it's coming to fruition. You love that as a coach, and now it's time for all those guys to become leaders. You've learned from a lot of guys who've come before you. Now it's your time to carry the torch."
Â
Duke's defensive backfield during the David Cutcliffe era has featured some superb corner backs known for lockdown coverage, such as Ross Cockrell, Breon Borders and Mark Gilbert. There have been some equally proficient safeties known for their bone-jarring ability to stop the run and force turnovers, most notably Matt Daniels and Jeremy Cash.
Â
But when it comes to the model defensive back that the Blue Devils now focus on in recruiting, current junior Michael Carter II just might be the prototype. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound product of the Atlanta metro area can play corner and safety, and has done so at a high level on game day during his first two years at Duke. In fact, with his combination of physical gifts and intellectual acuity, he can play any of the five spots in the secondary, from field or boundary corner to rover, bandit or strike safety.
Â
"When we define recruiting a defensive back at Duke, he's what we're talking about," says co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri. "It's not safety- or corner-specific — he has the ability to run, cover and tackle. That's what we're looking for, and when you have guys like that you can move them around and create matchups. It's fantastic to coach guys who have those traits and can play multiple positions."
Â
Guerrieri was the lead recruiter on Carter when the Blue Devils were courting him at South Paulding High School in Douglasville, Ga. Carter attended camp at Duke between his freshman and sophomore seasons and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. Duke was his first scholarship offer, and it didn't take him long to get on the field once he arrived in Durham, as he played in 12 games with two starts as a true freshman in 2017.
Â
Carter was used mostly as a strike safety that year — Duke's version of a nickel back or slot corner. The coaching staff wanted him ready to play the traditional corner positions last year so he got a heavy dose of instruction with assistant coach Derek Jones during preseason training last August.
Â
The move certainly paid off. Carter started the 2018 opener against Army at one corner, with preseason All-America Mark Gilbert at the other. In week two at Northwestern, he started at strike safety but then moved back to corner when Gilbert suffered a season-ending injury. He remained the starter at corner the rest of the year, other than the two games he had to sit with an injury.
Â
This year, he's been back working at strike safety again, but his versatility is a weapon that the Blue Devils won't hesitate to deploy.
Â
"If you've got a guy who can play both inside and outside, it's going to help the defense work better and help matchups," Carter says. "The way the season worked out, I stuck at corner last year, and now I'm back at strike safety. I'm sure I'll be outside and inside doing different things this season.
"I love it in the sense that I'm prepared to do anything they ask me to to help the team win. I like being able to play inside and be in on the runs and blitz. But also I like to press wide receivers off the ball and cover downfield too."
Â
The Northwestern game last year showed Carter at his best, in the face of adverse circumstances. He posted his season high of eight tackles, including one run stop at the line of scrimmage after he fought off a blocking tight end with a significant size advantage. He also had his season high of three pass breakups and snagged the first interception of his career — one that might have turned into a pick-six had he not stepped on the sideline during his return.
Â
On a day when Duke saw its best offensive player (QB Daniel Jones) and its top defensive back (Gilbert) go down to injury, the Blue Devils were still able to claim an important road victory over a team that went on to play in the Big Ten championship game. Carter's versatility played a huge role in that outcome.
Â
"That was a great example," Guerrieri says. "One of the things that's hardest to measure on a guy is how tough is he. You see Mike run and cover and do different things, but he's a really tough guy. We lean on those guys to be the heart and soul of what we try to do from a mentality standpoint."
Â
The mental side of the game is one of a couple of areas where Carter hopes to take another step forward this year. He credits that interception at Northwestern to some dedicated film study leading up to the game, pointing out that he recognized the route the receiver was going to run as soon as he lined up. He's looking for more mergers of the intellectual and physical in 2019.
Â
"A lot of football is instinctual, knowing when to turn around and look for the ball, knowing when to hit the ball out, things like that," says Carter, an Academic All-ACC pick. "I'm trying to become more of a cerebral player and know the game. Becoming a better film studier is definitely an area I'm working to improve. But I think more as I went from freshman year to sophomore year just understanding what's going on, what are the type of things that could happen… It's part of growing and understanding the game and understanding that at this level you need to have the mental part there."
Â
Leadership is another prime focal point for Carter, now that he is one of the more experienced players in the secondary with 23 games, 13 starts and 924 snaps to his credit. He's comfortable — and effective — in leading by example, but this season he's trying to add a more vocal element to his field presence.
Â
"It's definitely a challenge because I like to lead by action, that's my thing. The coaches have been getting on me about leading vocally.
Â
"I expect a lot out of myself, to perform at a high level and also push my teammates to perform at a high level. I know the coaches expect nothing less from me. Guys like me and Marquis (Waters), we have that experience and that playing time that a lot of people don't have yet. So it's important for us to be those vocal leaders."
Â
"Early on in a guy's career, he'll focus on getting himself better," says Guerrieri. "He'll focus on his position, and the ability to defend the pass from his position, defend the run from his position. It's a self-centered approach, and we teach it that way because you have to get that guy ready to be functional in the system. I don't care if it's a first-year DeVon Edwards, a first-year Jeremy Cash, a first-year Ross Cockrell. It doesn't matter.
Â
"As they mature and develop they become leaders, so his influence is not only on himself but on the guys around him. That's what Mike has done — he's a highly intelligent guy, he's compassionate, he's a trusted teammate, great relationships. Obviously you see the football skills he has on display on Saturdays, but those things you don't see behind the scenes, he's become a leader in that room of defensive backs."
Â
That room is full of familiar faces at this point in Carter's career. He is one of six defensive backs who signed in the 2017 recruiting class and all are now facing prominent roles. With the veteran Gilbert still recovering from his 2018 injury, four of the five starters in the defensive backfield could come from the same class — Carter and Waters at safety, and Josh Blackwell and Leonard Johnson at the corners. Damani Neal, who had eight tackles and a sack in the Independence Bowl, is in the mix for time at bandit safety with Waters, while Lummie Young IV is working at rover with senior Dylan Singleton, after starting in Singleton's place the final three games of 2018 due to injury.
Â
"I realized last year, with so many people going down, that this is the year our class, the 2017 class, has to step up and shine," Carter says. "And I think everybody in the class who got in had their moments and it was so vital because we needed everybody in our class to play like they did, and I think they did a great job.
                            Â
"There's definitely a class pride that we have, being on the field together. It's almost like it's becoming our team now, in a sense, going from the least experienced to some of the most experienced guys on the team. So we have to take over. A lot of guys in the class are becoming the guys who have to lead."
Â
Duke experienced so many injuries last year that the team's unofficial motto might have been "Next man up." Several of the guys who were the next man up last year are now on the front lines as the man up at their spot, and many of them are from Carter's 2017 class.
Â
"That is the definition of recruiting right there," Guerrieri notes. "You bring guys in and some make a difference in their first year, some make a difference in their second year. Here we are going into their third year and all those guys have blossomed into being meaningful contributors for us.
Â
"They've had a bunch of success on and off the field, who they are as people. It does nothing but make you smile when you see, here's the plan we had and it's coming to fruition. You love that as a coach, and now it's time for all those guys to become leaders. You've learned from a lot of guys who've come before you. Now it's your time to carry the torch."
Â
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