Steve Wiltfong evaluates if Tennessee's Boo Carter is the next Travis Hunter

Boo Carter is a ridiculous athlete and Tennessee is thrilled to have him, but he’s not quite Travis Hunter yet, according to On3’s VP of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong.

Joining Andy Staples On3, Wiltfong was posed the question if Carter would be a two-way player fo the Volunteers. If he does so, can he be Hunter, who’s been a star at Jackson State and Colorado the last two seasons as a receiver and cornerback?

Not so fast, says Wiltfong, but Carter is a tantalizing prospect.

“Well, he was a terrific two way player on the high school level that I remember Ohio State was considering as a potential running back prospect,” Wiltfong said. “So he certainly has that skill set. I know he impressed Tennessee in camp locking down receivers in the secondary, locking down older receivers when he was young in camp and so certainly, that’s where Tennessee saw him making a great impact early on. 

“But in today’s era of college football, you have an exciting player that can give you some snaps on offense and be a difference maker there and it’s not too challenging to understand what your responsibilities are, than certainly I think we’ve seen it in the past beyond Travis Hunter. But it’s few and far between. Travis Hunter’s a special talent. It’s hard for me to say hey, anybody’s Travis Hunter 2.0, just like it’s hard for me to call any 5-foot-9.5 and a half quarterback that’s 160 pounds, Bryce Young.”

As a member of the Class of 2024, Carter was a four-star recruit out of Chattanooga (Tenn.) Bradley Central, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, the No. 3 athlete in the class and the No. 110 overall prospect in the class.

Tennessee has yet to reveal how they’ll use Carter, but it might be pretty hard to keep him off the field as a true freshman this coming season.

The chance to play for Josh Heupel played a key role in Carter choosing Tennessee over Michigan and Colorado.

“Coach Heupel was a very important factor for me,” Carter said back in December. “He has been very cool with me in this process. He was an immediate factor for me. I know Coach Heup is busy every day, but I get on the phone with him when I am on the phone with the position coaches. He will text you, too. We are close. He has things going the right way up there.”