11 in 11 Part 6: Jacob Carter

Senior wide receiver and defensive back Jacob Carter is one of the most vital members of this year's team. Jacob is also a kick and punt returner as well as a kicker and a punter. Last week against Oakland, Jacob had a 25 yard punt return that ultimately set up the game tying touchdown. Can he do it again against MBA?

Jacob, you had a game changing punt return against Oakland that gave us great field position. How did you manage to get past most of their cover unit?

My blockers; that's about all I can say. I didn't really have to do much to find a hole. Everyone blocked great.

You had a nice interception in that game as well, do you like being a two-way player?

Thanks, yeah I enjoy it a lot. It's fun to be on the field the whole game. I think being a two-way player helps me understand the game better and to become more "football smart".

Before the Oakland game you received an honor; can you explain exactly what you received and what it means to you?

Yes, I was nominated for a $5,000 scholarship from the Captain D's Thursday Night Lights for Ensworth High School. At the end of the season they pick a nominated player from the Thursday night games, and he receives the scholarship. It means a lot to me to be nominated for Ensworth, but there are plenty of players on the team that could have received this honor instead of me.

Kicking was a weakness for this team last year, what have we been doing to improve the kicking game?

Drew Parker (holder) and I have been coming out to practice early just getting some reps so we can become more consistent with our kicking game. There is always room for improvement.

Are you excited to have a quarterback like Cody Tollison throwing your way?

Yeah, it's very exciting to have him back there at quarterback. He's got some big shoes to fill, but I know he will be able fill them, if not make them bigger. And I know he has a lot of faith in the receiving corps to come up with the ball when he puts it in the air.

How close do you think the MBA game is going to be? Do you think you can have success against their secondary and special teams?

Well I hope it isn't close at all. MBA is a great team every year and they are going to play their best game against us because of all the hype. So it will be a competitive and fun game to play. I think we have a good chance at success against their secondary because they will have to respect our run game. I'm not sure if we can do much about Fletcher and their kicking game, but hopefully we will be able to return some punts against them. We'll see what happens.

Have you received interest from any colleges?

Yeah, a little, nothing that big though.

What does this team have to do to get to state?

We have to come out every week and play our game. If we do that, we'll be all right.