Four-star DT Jarquez Carter feels close bond with UCF's Kenny Martin
UCF saw the potential early in Jarquez Carter.
The Newberry (Fla.) defensive tackle was offered by Knights defensive tackles coach Kenny Martin shortly after his sophomore season when he was still 15 years old. Today, Carter is a Rivals.com four-star prospect with a national list of offers.
A frequent visitor to UCF over the past year, Carter recently returned for a spring practice.
"It was great being able to spend time with Coach Martin," Carter said. "He's a great coach and one of the best d-line coaches in the country. I was in all their defensive meetings, sitting in there and listening how he coaches. And then being able to watch him coach practice, it felt different this time because I'm close to making my decision.
"I also talked to Coach (Gus) Malzahn which was great. He was basically asking me if UCF is still in it and they definitely are. He was just checking in with me, asking about my family."
Kenny Martin was the first college coach to take a serious interest in him.
"The biggest thing is he's a man of his word," Carter said. "He's going to develop you. Before he started coaching John Walker, he said he's going to be a Freshman All-American and he proved that. He doesn't have the top recruits like Florida, Florida State and Miami, yet their defensive line produces more tackles and sacks than all the other schools in Florida. He's a great coach."
Martin sees a similar trajectory for Carter.
"He's always telling me that I'm his top guy," Carter said. "If we put the work in, I can be one of the best players in the country. He was the first coach to really start recruiting me, the first one to see the skills that I had. Everything he's told me has come true. I trust him. He's always keeping it 100 with me, even teaching me some things so I can improve my game."
In addition to UCF, Carter has made recent visits to Florida, Florida State, Miami, Penn State and Tennessee. Upcoming unofficial visits are scheduled to Colorado, Ohio State, USC and probably Alabama.
On the official visit front, Carter expects to visit UCF, Penn State, Miami and possibly USC this summer. His UCF OV is already booked for the weekend of June 14.
Carter plans to trim his list soon, probably down to a top eight.
"I'm trying to see my top schools right now so I can get a good feeling," he said. "It's really good to see practices so I can see how the coaches operate. It's going to really help in my decision."
