Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter: ‘I feel I’m the best player in general’

Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen called Abdul Carter the best defensive player in the country.

SMU coach Rhett Lashlee described Carter as the “best defensive player we’ve played in my time (with the Mustangs).”

Carter, the Nittany Lions’ imposing defensive end, went one better the other day.

“I still feel like I’m the best defensive player,” he said, “but not just the best defensive player. I feel I’m the best player in general. We impact the game just as much as offensive players.”

Few players have impacted games this season as much as Carter, who on Wednesday became Penn State’s first unanimous first-team All-American since Saquon Barkley in 2017.

The Sporting News became the fifth NCAA-recognized group to name him to their first team, joining the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

Carter, though, remains salty about not winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy or the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s best defensive player last week. He was a finalist for both.

“It definitely gives me an extra edge,” he said. “You know, the night I got snubbed for the Nagurski Trophy, I did some pushups that night and maxed out. I just use it as motivation. I try not to get discouraged.”

That could spell trouble for 11th-seeded SMU (11-2), which travels to face sixth-seeded Penn State (11-2) in the first round of the College Football Playoff Saturday at noon (TV-TNT) at Beaver Stadium.

Lashlee was an offensive coordinator in college for 11 years before he became the Mustangs coach in 2022. He’s faced a lot of defensive ends.

“Abdul’s got as good a get-off as anybody in college football,” Lashlee said. “There’s a reason why he’s a top-five, top-10 pick in the upcoming draft. He’s an…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-defensive-end-abdul-044700630.html

Author : Reading Eagle, Pa.

Publish date : 2024-12-19 04:47:00

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