Barrett Carter Reaffirms Commitment To Clemson

The status of four star linebacker Barrett Carter's commitment to Clemson has been the subject of message board fodder for weeks now. After his high school teammate Jordan Hancock recently decommitted from the Tigers, the speculation only intensified. Carter recently appeared on "The R.J. Young Show" and put those rumors to rest.

Things have been far from normal for Clemson football in recent months. That has particularly the case when it comes to recruiting. 

For the first time in several years, the Tigers have had a commitment back off of his pledge. Not once, but twice. 

The second of those decommitments took place less than two weeks ago and involved four-star cornerback Jordan Hancock. Soon after, he committed to Ohio State, the team he grew up rooting for.  

The fact that Hancock has a close relationship with current Clemson commit Barrett Carter has led to a ton of speculation that there may be another decommitment on the horizon. Not only are the two close friends, but they are also high school teammates, which has only added to the speculation.

Recently, Carter was a guest on "The R.J. Young Show" and was asked how firm his commitment is. The four-star linebacker from Georgia admitted it can get hard at times with schools still pursuing him, but he left no doubt about where he stood.

"Yeah, it's tough," Carter said. "Schools, they're still hitting me up but I gave Clemson my word and I would never back down on my word. I'm one-hundred percent to Clemson. They don't have to worry about anything with me."

While it appears that the two close friends will end up playing at different schools, Carter says his relationship with Hancock is as strong as it's ever been.

"Our friendship is going great," Carter said. "We've been growing up playing sports together. Whether it's basketball or football, and our bond has only gotten stronger. Yeah, our friendship is going really good."

One of the things that drew Carter to Clemson was a desire to play for Brent Venables. He is already building a solid relationship with his future defensive coordinator, and the two are in constant contact. 

So far he loves everything about he knows about Venables. Despite the fact the two haven't been able to spend much time together face-to-face due to the ongoing pandemic, Carter says he knows everything he needs to know about Venables.

"We talk like literally, everyday," Carter said. "We can talk about anything in the world. We have a really good relationship. I heard he's just like my coach now. They're both very passionate about the game. They love what they do. He (Venables) pours his heart into his players and that's all that I can ask of him."

Like everyone else though, Carter is currently in a holding pattern. With so many questions surrounding the upcoming season, he is just doing what he can to stay in shape. He says right now he is hovering around the 220-pound mark and running in the 4.5 (forty time) range.

"I'm training on the weekends, usually," Carter said. "We have football during the week, and I lift on the weekends as well. I might go outside and run the hill outside my house just to stay in shape."

It's hard for Carter to not think about what lies ahead though. Every time he does think about what he will be doing a year from now, he gets a little excited and a little more determined. And make no mistake, he has no doubts about where he will be at.

"I can't wait to get there (Clemson)," Carter said. "I'm one-thousand percent. I'm all in."