Big lineman has week of visits on tap

Miami (Fla.) Jackson defensive tackle Ruben Carter has steadily seen his recruitment rise as of late. He holds offers from schools in several top conferences such as the SEC, Big 12 and Big East. Though many of them came in the spring, the tenders are still making their way to the school.

"The newest ones that have come in are ECU and USF," the 6-foot-4, 285-pound Carter said. "I'm up to 12 now but I'm not sure about two of them. Coach (Nigel) Dunn told me that I have two more but he hasn't told me which schools just yet."

In addition to the programs that have offers, two SEC schools seem to be making a new push for Carter's services.

"I've been getting a lot of interest from Tennessee and Alabama," he said. "I talk to the Tennessee coaches a few times a week. I've been talking to coach (Chuck) Smith and coach (Terry) Joseph. I also talk to coach Bobby Williams at Alabama.

"Both schools have said they want to see me run around a little bit. They liked my highlight tape and, once I go meet their coaching staff, then when I come down back to Miami an offer should be in the mail."

Carter could get that opportunity to perform in front of the entire coaching staffs as he is about to embark on a whirlwind tour of college campuses.

"This Saturday I'm leaving to visit a bunch of schools for a week," he said. "I'm going to be going to an Alabama camp and I'm going to Friday Night Lights at Florida and then to Florida State the next day. I'm going to Tennessee for an unofficial visit. I'm also going to Auburn on an unofficial. I'm going to all of those next week. I'm going to FIU for another unofficial this week."

Though Carter is seen primarily as a defensive tackle, at least one school sees him as a potential offensive lineman at the next level. It's an idea that intrigues him somewhat.

"Kentucky is recruiting me as both, either/or," he said. "It would be my decision. Alabama is recruiting me as a defensive tackle and a defensive end. Everybody else is recruiting me as a defensive tackle.

"I prefer defense, but I like offense too. All these schools just found out that I could play center, though. I played guard and tackle last year but I'm playing center now. Center is sort of my 1A choice of positions now. It's kind of cool; I like it a lot. I know there's a lot of pressure to get the snap to the QB and then pick up your reads and your man. I like that pressure a lot."

Carter had previously listed a top three of Kentucky, Kansas and FIU. While one school remains constant, there has been a change on his leader board.

"Right now, you could say that Kansas, Tennessee and Alabama are recruiting me the hardest," Carter said. "Those are the three that are really sticking out to me right now."