2012 Season Countdown: #78 Tamani Carter

Tamani Carter

Name: Tamani Carter
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 175 lbs.
High school: Pickerington (OH) Central
Position: Free safety
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #20
Last year: I predicted that Carter would be a backup safety.  He redshirted.

Carter came out of high school without a great deal of fanfare as a late addition to the 2011 recruiting class.  He had a chance to earn playing time last season if the team needed him in a pinch, but luckily, there were very few injuries in the defensive backfield.  Carter plays free safety, which is currently occupied by Thomas Gordon, and departed senior Troy Woolfolk spent some time at free safety during the latter half of the year.  That afforded Carter the chance to redshirt.

This spring Carter was involved in the legal issues that kept fellow safety Josh Furman from participating in spring practices.  Although Carter was never charged, he sat out several practices while the coaches and the legal system sorted things out.  He probably hasn't completely escaped the doghouse, and the depth at safety hasn't changed much since last season.  Gordon is still the starter at FS and Jordan Kovacs will start at strong safety; Furman and Marvin Robinson return as backups; and a couple incoming freshman, Jarrod Wilson and Jeremy Clark, will also be competing for time at free safety.  It's likely that Carter spends another year looking on from the sideline.

Prediction: Bench