Local football phenom making waves in college football and is an NFL first-round prospect
When it comes to making it to the National Football League (NFL), it is a remarkable feat, in that only 1.6% of college football players make it to the league.
Did you hear that? Only 1.6% of college football players make it to the league.
On top of that, most college football players who get drafted tend to come from Division I schools, who usually get major television time and play in high-profile bowl games.
So again, making it to the NFL is a monumental accomplishment, but being drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft from a school not widely looked at as a football school with NFL prospects, is even more of an accomplishment.
Andre Carter II (center) with parents, Andre Carter and Melissa Carter
Missouri City, Texas native Andre Carter II is looking to change that narrative, and hopefully start a new trend when it comes to unlikely schools to produce first round NFL talent.
Carter, a 22-year-old senior who plays for the Army West Point Black Knights, is being widely touted as one of the top prospects and potential first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Standing 6 feet 7 inches tall, the 260-pound outside linebacker/edge rusher has freakish athleticism and the size, speed, and wingspan to strongly be considered a first-round pick.
Never in the history of the NFL has a member of a service academy—Army, Navy and Air Force football programs—been drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft…NEVER!
Being drafted in the first round would be a true history-making achievement.
There have only been a handful of service academy football players who have made it to the league. Most notably, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, who won the Heisman Trophy for Navy in 1963, was drafted to play in the NFL in 1964, and won two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys during his stellar career.
Carter started playing little league football at the age of five, and the passion never left.
Andre Carter and family
His love for the game as a football fan became his motivation to play.
After graduating from Westbury Christian High School where he played wide receiver and tight end, Carter joined the United States military academy at West Point because of it being considered one of the best leadership institutions in the world and his opportunity to play football, get a quality education, and serve in the U.S. Army.
Carter took the field for the first time for the Army West Point Black Knights in 2019, playing in just one game with just two snaps.
During his sophomore year in 2020, Carter played in nine games and took part in nearly 200 snaps as a linebacker, recording nine tackles, three assists, seven stops, one interception, twelve total pressures, eight QB hurries, three QB hits, and one sack.
As a junior, Carter exploded last year, as he played 13 games contributing on 639 snaps, recording 20 tackles, eight assists, 24 stops, one pass breakup, one interception, 58 total pressures, 34 QB hurries, nine QB hits, and 15 sacks, trailing only Alabama’s Will Anderson in sacks with 15.5, and making 1½ more sacks than last year’s number-one pick by the Detroit Lions, Aidan Hutchinson from Michigan.
At the end of the 2021 season, Carter was named to the AP All-American team, and became the first Army football player to make the list in 31 years.
Carter is a rare talent and an outstanding athlete that possesses tremendous agility, familiarity with the offensive side of the ball, strength, a massive wingspan, elite agility, and speed.
With the love he has for family, especially his parents—Andre Carter and Melissa Carter, and his grandmother, Mary Lou Early, and his grandfather Don A. Early, who passed away in August 2022, Carter has a lot to keep him motivated and to push him towards the ultimate goal of making it to the NFL and being a first-round pick.