Family ties: Why LSU fullback Tory Carter grew up a Georgia Southern fan

Carter adjusting to life as tight end in new spread offense
Family ties: Why LSU fullback Tory Carter grew up a Georgia Southern fan
Family ties: Why LSU fullback Tory Carter grew up a Georgia Southern fan /

If LSU needed any extra motivation to not take its first opponent Georgia Southern lightly, Ed Orgeron provided the proper motivation Wednesday night at his radio show.

When describing the Eagles to his players, Orgeron said he told them "we're playing 22 Tory Carters." That's because when the Tigers lace up Saturday night, they'll be going against the junior tight end and fullback's childhood team.

Carter grew up in Valdosta, Georgia, a small town with a population of about 56 thousand and about a three hour drive from Statesboro, where Georgia Southern is located. So why did Carter grow up rooting for the Eagles?

His father, James Carter, was a fullback and defensive lineman in the late 1980's and helped lead Georgia Southern to one of its six NCAA Division I-AA championships in 1986 as a freshman fullback. These days James is an avid LSU fan and couldn't be more excited about his son playing against his former team.

"Oh he's pumped, he can't wait to see all his buddies," Carter said.

Carter, who grew up a Georgia Southern fan because of his dad, has immense respect for the program and all it accomplished with the FCS, winning six national championships in the span of 15 years. The family made the three hour drive five or six times when Carter was growing up to visit his father's old stomping grounds 

"For me it's easy to respect them because I grew up loving Georgia Southern," Carter said. "I still do because that's my dad's team but you won't catch me looking over them. I know what they're being told right now which is they're not going to step back or step down. That's not how it is in Georgia."

Carter is making a move to expand his role within the LSU offense, learning how to play tight end after spending the last two years as the primary fullback. With the Tigers moving toward a new offensive scheme in 2019, it was either catch up with the times or be left behind for the junior. 

The route tree is a bit different for fullback as Carter only had one route to implant in his brain for the position, but the tight end spot is a bit different and Carter spent the offseason working with another tight end on the roster.

"I just had to put work in the offseason to get used to the position," Carter said. "Thaddeus [Moss] helped me so much with my routes. We worked every Saturday with Joe [Burrow] and the other receivers and each week we got better."

Another adjustment Carter has made while getting used to playing tight ens is in the blocking game. Carter, who blocked in both the I-formation and on the wing his first two years, said the blocking at tight end is still the same, but he's just lining up in a different spot and attacking at different angles.

"The angles obviously from the I are a little bit different, you have different read keys," Carter said. "But my past two years here I've blocked from the wing, probably more than I have from the I-formation to be honest."

The junior caught 10 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns in his freshman and sophomore years and is likely behind Moss and Stephen Sullivan on the depth chart at tight end. But it's his blocking, physicality and knowledge of the game that will earn him playing time, all traits that the Tiger coaching staff will carve out time for.

Carter has been a part of three different offenses in three years with the program but says that diversity has helped him expand his learning and understanding of the game.

"It's just being a student of the game," Carter said. "It's hard to learn them but once you do it makes everything come more full circle. Right now I understand football a lot more than when I first got here, just by learning all the different offenses."

 


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Glen West
GLEN WEST

Glen West has been a beat reporter covering LSU football, basketball and baseball since 2017. West has written for the Daily Reveille, Rivals and the Advocate as a stringer covering prep sports as well. He's easy to pick out from a crowd as well, standing 6-foot-10 with a killer jump shot.