Michael Carter knew something was off with his offensive coordinator.
The typically enthusiastic Phil Longo didn’t appear as cheerful as he normally was before the Tar Heels’ 8 a.m. practice one summer morning in 2019. Though Carter wouldn’t know why until days later, Longo was focused on his Type-1 diabetic daughter, Gianna. She had endured a particularly bad morning, and the North Carolina coach wanted to clear his mind as he walked from the meeting room to the team’s indoor practice facility.
But Carter decided to tag along. By the time their 60-second walk to the field was up, Longo was in stitches.
“I can’t tell you what we talked about. I couldn’t tell you what we laughed about. I couldn’t even tell you anything about the conversation,” Longo told Jets Wire. “But [Michael] had me in a good mood. In a nutshell, that is what Michael’s all about.”
Gang Green’s rookie running back is tailor-made for Mike LaFleur’s offense, but Carter’s positive personality will also fit in at One Jets Drive. Carter’s UNC career is littered with stories like Longo’s, and his goal in life – other than winning a Super Bowl and elevating his game – is to keep everyone around him happy and having fun.
“It was just something that I’ve always done,” Carter recently told Jets Wire. “I think it was kind of my personality more than anything. I hate seeing people down because I know how I feel when I’m down.”
Football is demanding, even for someone like Carter, who has excelled at the sport since he was a child. But he finds the gridiron to be a therapeutic source of joy. He wants those around him to experience the same feeling.
“Football is such a fun game,” said Carter, who believes his actions off the field impact how he plays. “It can be hard just because of like, that’s what the grind is. But I just think that football is – should – be fun. It should be fun at all times, even when it’s hard. So some days people need to lift up.”
Former UNC linebacker Jake Lawler credits Carter for helping him navigate two complicated moments of his life. The first came in 2018 when Carter learned that his roommate’s late-night walks sometimes left him contemplating suicide. Carter took it upon himself to talk to Lawler about his battles with depression.
“Mike really serves as the catalyst, I think, for me getting better and getting help,” Lawler said. “He’s always someone who is a positive person, whose focus and goal is to uplift people.”
The way Carter looks at it, he was just being there for a friend.
“He says I saved his life and I hate it when he says that,” Carter said. “Because I’m like, ‘No, bro. You did. I was just a listening ear.’”
The second moment came in August 2019 when Lawler thought about leaving the football team for a film writing career in Los Angeles. Lawler said he was unhappy, became disassociated with football, and wanted to pursue his passion. A broadcast journalism major at UNC, Lawler had written and produced during his time in college and wanted a career in that field to bolster Black representation in the entertainment industry.
When the two talked about the decision, Carter explained to Lawler the worst thing that could happen: the move doesn’t work out, and Lawler returns to the East Coast.
“His belief in my ability to do something outside of football really sort of propelled me,” Lawler said. “If I’m sitting here and my friend is believing in me this much that this is the opportunity I should take, then I don’t think there’s any reason why I shouldn’t.”
Lawler left the team three months later. Now he’s living out his dream on the West Coast, where he works for Chaotic Good Studios.
Lawler believes Carter’s understanding of himself as a person is what’s helped him become as successful as he’s been on the field. Carter knows that football doesn’t define him, and therefore he doesn’t let it get in the way of his own personal progress.
“For a lot of people, when football is all they have they become extremely jealous,” Lawler explains. “If that’s all you have and all you identify with, then anybody who ascends or is in direct competition with your ability to perform the way you want to perform will always be a threat. Knowing himself, it allowed him to go to the draft. It allowed him to go to the Jets. It allowed him to be, in my opinion, one of the best rookies selected.”
That mentality was put to use when Carter met Javonte Williams in 2018. Despite losing backfield touches to Williams, Carter took the young running back under his wing and even convinced him he could be an early-round draft pick after only receiving one scholarship out of high school. If Williams was downtrodden about a game or a practice drill, Carter was there to turn each mistake into a positive, teachable moment.
“If you’re having a bad day, Mike is going to be the one to pick you up,” Williams said. “I’d definitely say Mike was the reason, honestly, that I got better over the years.”
The backfield competition between Carter and Williams blossomed into a friendship. Carter and Williams looked at each other as brothers rather than adversaries and motivated each other to improve. Both running backs finished with more than 1,000 yards in 2020. So when draft interviews rolled around after the season, the two did what they always did: they helped each other out.
“If I talked to the 49ers, I’d call [Carter] and be like, ‘Yo be prepared for this question,’” Williams said. “Or when he talks to somebody, he’d be like, ‘Hey bro, they asked me this question to try to mess me up.’”
Williams was eventually taken in the second round by the Broncos in the 2021 draft, while the Jets picked Carter in the fourth. Despite being selected later than he thought – Carter said most teams gave him a second- or third-round grade – the Jets running back doesn’t see his draft status as a chip on his shoulder. He doesn’t want to waste time or energy trying to impress those who didn’t think he was good enough in the first place.
Instead, Carter said he’d rather focus on making himself and those around him proud.
“I’m internally motivated because I feel like I’m a premier back in the class,” Carter said. “I’m blessed to be here, so why would I spend time on something so superficial like where I got drafted?”
Carter’s priority now is plain and simple: winning. That includes changing the culture in New York and growing as a player. But at the end of it all, the only thing that matters to him is the number in the win column.
“I want to eat. Of course I do. Dogs eat,” Carter said. “But at the same time, I want to win and be a key part of that. The main part is getting better each day and seeing where we can take this.”
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