Kirby Smart getting questions aplenty about 'generational talent' Jalen Carter
ATHENS, Ga. — Few players have been discussed as much as Jalen Carter this offseason. From the talk of him potentially being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to his connection to the car crash that took the lives of Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy, Carter has been a popular topic of conversation.
He didn’t talk to reporters at the NFL Combine a couple of weeks ago and he also opted out of interviews at Georgia’s Pro Day on Wednesday. But Kirby Smart was asked about him multiple times, something that has been going on for a little while now.
“There’s been a lot of questions about Jalen, which probably was inevitable anyway,” Smart said when asked about NFL teams communicating with him on Carter. “When you start talking about, I got a lot of questions about Travon Walker when he came out. There’s a lot of questions generally, but with the situation, probably more questions and more direct. You just try to be honest and talk about the experiences we had with Jalen here. Jalen did not have to come back and play after his first injury, nor after his second injury. Both times he wanted to overcome that injury. He begged us to put him in in games he was hurt. The competitive character he’s shown I think has been really good. I also think his teammates really respect Jalen. Jalen earned the respect of his teammates. They love being around him. That’s a lot of things you can say about him.”
Carter has been charged with reckless driving and street racing in connection with the fatal January 15 accident. Athens-Clarke County police say that Carter’s vehicle was racing with the Ford Expedition driven by LeCroy, who had a blood alcohol concentration nearly two and a half times the legal limit. The cars were observed, via video, overtaking other cars on their side of the road, weaving into the turn lane, and driving in the wrong lanes down Barnett Shoals road in East Athens.
The news of the arrest warrant broke the same morning that Carter was supposed to speak to NFL teams and media at the combine. He got face time with the teams and executives but did not speak to reporters, something he did just a few times at Georgia anyway.
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The former five-star prospect made his way back to Athens yesterday where he watched Georgia’s first spring practice. Smart was happy to get him back out into a familiar element. The eighth-year head coach believes it was good for him to be around the players and the game.
Smart believes that Carter is indeed struggling internally with what happened the night that Willock and LeCroy lost their lives. The outcome of the accident and being there when it happened has stuck with him and probably will for awhile. But when it comes to the questions about that night and how Carter is dealing with it, there’s only one man who can offer answers.
As for his talent and what he did at Georgia, Smart has no doubt that Carter has what it takes to be a force at the highest level. Players like him don’t come around often.
“Yeah, he’s a generational talent. He’s very talented,” Smart said. “I’ve been around coaching for 18 years and there’s very few guys I’ve coached that have the talent that he has.”
