Tennessee football and Boo Carter are officially splitting ways after just under two years together. Carter, a former highly-recruited in-state prospect, joined as a freshman and instantly made an impact for the Vols’ playoff push. He came off the bench at the STAR position on defense and earned the job as the punt returner.
This off-season, Carter missed workouts and had to earn his way back onto the team during fall camp. This took potential offensive duties off the table, as well, as he was only used on defense and special teams as a sophomore.
After not playing on defense vs. Oklahoma, Carter was not at Tennessee’s win over New Mexico State. On Sunday, he announced he will be entering the transfer portal.
So, how will UT fill his shoes for the final two regular-season games against Florida and Vanderbilt? Here’s the most likely scenarios.
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On defense, Carter has come off the bench behind Jalen McMurray. Against Oklahoma, McMurray was on the field for 62 of the 66 defensive snaps the team played. The snaps he was off the field saw a linebacker replace him instead of a backup defensive back. This shows that in close games, the most likely solution is an extra snap load for McMurray or a different personnel look.
In the following game against NMSU, McMurray played 64 of 85 snaps. Behind him, it was Montrell Bandy getting snaps in the spot once the game got out of hand. Bandy has primarily played special teams this year.
With Carter gone, it also opened up punt return responsibilities. Tennessee has tried to go to wide receiver Braylon Staley in the past, but he lost the job after muffing a punt at Mississippi State. Against New Mexico State, freshman running back Daune Morris got the job and made smart decisions. He’ll likely be in the role at Florida next week.
