Tennessee's true freshman safety Boo Carter has been an immediate impact player since arriving on campus but has not received the national recognition he deserves after a great season on Rocky Top.
On3 Sports and Charles Power have released their 2024 True Freshman All-American Team list, and Carter is nowhere to be found after a great freshman year.
NEW: 2024 On3 True Freshman All-American Team via @CharlesPower🔥https://t.co/zJCQNhNZNb pic.twitter.com/MFVmaqaqmG
— On3 (@On3sports) December 6, 2024
Carter juggled multiple roles for Tennessee, whether on defense or special teams and proved he could do anything the coaches needed him to at a high level. Because of his explosiveness and play-making abilities, Nico Iamaelava is campaigning to get him some snaps on offense.
He played in all 12 games for Tennessee this season and finished the regular season with 35 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception. Carter has also returned kicks and punts for Tennessee, where he has 198 yards on 12 returns and 207 all-purpose yards on the season.
That is good enough for first in the SEC and fifth in the country in average yards per return with 16.5 yards, and second in the SEC in total punt return yards.
Tennessee fans were rightfully upset that Carter didn't make the list. The former four-star athlete out of Chattanooga previewed his skills in each phase of the game in high school. He did almost everything for Bradley Central, earning him the No. 5 ranking of all athletes in the 2024 recruiting class and the No. 189 player nationally in his class.
He has outperformed his ranking in one season with the Vols. After his first year, he's not the 189th-best freshman in the country, but he's at worst a top-50 player in his class.
Boo has a lot to prove still but has quickly proven he has the potential to be one of the best safeties and special teams players we've seen on Rocky Top in a long time.