In this installment of the Recruit Notebook, we meet a physical Safety who will punish players running over the middle of the Canes’ defense for years to come: S Amari Carter.

Bio

A player that epitomizes what DC Manny Diaz and S coach Ephraim Banda want from the Safety position, Palm Beach Gardens (FL) S Amari Carter is one of the biggest gets for Miami in this recruiting class.

While starring for Palm Beach Gardens, Carter built a nice reputation for himself as an above average athlete and a very physical player. He was routinely seen making plays all over the field for Gardens, and many CFB teams took notice. With 20 offers to his credit, Carter is a player that had been pursued by many teams around the Country.

A 3rd team All-State player in Florida’s 8A classification, Carter was the leader and lynchpin for a stingy Gardens defense, and consistently played his best games against the most talented opponents.

For a long time in his recruitment, it seemed as though the 6’2” 190lb Carter would be following several of his former PBGardens teammates to South Bend to play for Notre Dame. While that was the prevailing thought early on in this cycle, as time wore on, things between Carter and the Irish noticeably cooled. When Miami put the full-court press on, the game was over, and Carter committed to the Canes shortly before enrolling there in January.

Recruiting Ranking

On the 247sports composite, Carter is a 3-star prospect, the #33 S in this class, the #62 player in the State of Florida, and the #469 player in this class overall.

Carter committed to Miami over 19 other offers including Notre Dame, Auburn, Clemson, Louisville, LSU, and Michigan.

Carter as a player

Carter is a fierce hitter in the middle of the secondary. He can routinely be seen laying huge hits on opposing players — receivers and running backs alike — when give the chance.

Carter wasn’t really used in man coverage in HS, so I’m not really sure what kind of skills he has in that area. But, when you hit like he does, you don’t have to cover that often.

At 6’2” 190lbs, Carter has good height and size for the S position. He’s not the most explosive athlete in the world, and that could come into play if he was matched up against a quicker slot receiver type.

Carter loves coming downhill in run support. Once he decides to go into the box to help out, violence usually follows shortly after. This is a kid who can and will hit you, and hit you hard, every chance he gets. His aggression may cause him to miss some time due to targeting penalties, but that’s the cost of doing business with this kind of elite physicality — to an extent.

For another look at Carter, here’s an eval from a top HS defensive coach:

words

2017 Outlook

Miami needs DBs from this recruiting class to come in and contribute right away, and Carter figures to do just that. He has great size, is an early enrollee so he’ll get to participate in Spring Practice to get acclimated to the defensive system, and was a good player on Special Teams in HS.

Chances for a redshirt: 1/10

Yeah, there’s a CHANCE Carter could redshirt, but I don’t see it. We need him to play, and play a lot. If he is able to consistently tackle in space and have a good grasp of the defense, I think there’s a better chance of Carter starting as a freshman than there is of him taking a redshirt.

That’s it for this installment of the Recruit Notebook

Go Canes