Taurean Carter looked like he was set to be Arkansas’ next breakout, home-grown defensive lineman.
A sophomore season that saw him crack the Razorbacks’ rotation at defensive tackle ended with only Illinois State transfer, a near All-SEC pick, John Ridgeway beating him on the statistical sheet. Carter was primed.
Then the knee went.
Carter missed the entire 2022 season, his junior season, after suffering a knee injury that spring. That set him back not only health wise, but the missed time allowed players to leapfrog him on the depth chart.
But now, heading into the 2023 season, Carter is feeling healthy and ready to re-take his place as one of the best defensive tackles on the roster.
“Me, personally, I like to try to go harder because the harder I go, the less I think about it,” Carter said.”And if I put myself in uncomfortable situations, I’ll get comfortable in those situations.”
The effort is what Arkansas needs up front. Carter is in the mix with returners Cam Ball and Eric Gregory and newcomers Tank Booker and Kieve Rose in the expected rotation. The good news for the Razorbacks is that that mix of defensive tackles brings a lot of experience. The bad news for Carter is they all played last year and he didn’t.
Defensive line coach Deke Adams said he thinks Carter is going to be ready to roll with no limits, mental or physical, sooner rather than later.
“Each day, you can see a little bit more confidence coming in, and he’s done a really good job like I said about all the other guys. He knows what I expect from him, and it’s every day come to work,” Adams said.
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