Zachary Carter Showcases Flexibility During Florida Gators Pro Day
Photo: Zach Carter, Jaguars DL coach Brentson Buckner; Credit: Zach Goodall
A multi-faceted player, Florida Gators defensive lineman Zachary Carter is preparing for his journey to the next level, ultimately to be selected at some point in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Part of that preparation, of course, was to participate in his team's Pro Day, able to give scouts, coaches and other observers a closer look to see what he can do at the next level. That included more interviews, drills and other extracurriculars, simply on a much smaller scale than that of the NFL Combine.
Ultimately, Florida hosted an invited 16 players, with the majority showing up. Those invited included 14 draft-eligible players and two other players who are returning to give scouts one more look in the event they are signed with a team later down the road.
For Carter, his day was filled with a lot of up-close-and-personal working with plenty of coaches, including Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line coach Brentson Buckner. Carter also has a planned visit with the franchise sometime this week, along with other visits planned ahead of April's draft, including to the 49ers potentially soon and other visits that could come down the pipeline.
He's already spoken to the Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and the Buffalo Bills, he said to name a few.
All in all, it was his flexibility to play multiple positions that Carter says he showed on Monday, something that plenty of NFL teams are interested in.
“They see me as a puzzle piece to move around," Carter said when asked about what teams see in him, what he's been hearing from teams.
"I was talking to the [Buffalo] Bills the other day. They said they like me at end, first and second down. They liked that I can slide inside on pass-rushing downs, third down. That’s what a lot of teams view me as right now.”
That's the role that Carter has played during his time at Florida over the past five years, playing both at defensive end and defensive tackle — and excelling. He accumulated 102 tackles, 26 tackles-for-loss and 17 sacks over the past four seasons (he redshirted his freshman season in 2017).
Carter's success and versatility is part of why NFL teams are so intrigued by him as a player, along with his success that has improved each year he's hit the grass.
"That’s one thing [former Gators defensive line] coach [David] Turner used to tell me. He was like, 'Zach, just trust me, being flexible is only going to work out for you in the long run.' I listened to him.”
Entering the draft season, Carter has remained at 285 pounds, his ideal playing weight, but he's cut down in his body-fat percentage to 18%, down from 25%. That will allow Carter to be stronger and faster, yet still, maintain his flexibility and strength to play against the top-level tackles in the NFL.
Though Carter opted to stand on many of his Combine measurements as far as drills are concerned, he did showcase one part of his game that will likely intrigue scouts and coaches - his flexibility.
During the Pro Day, Carter ran a Pro Shuttle or 20-yard shuttle in 4.30 seconds, which would have been rated as the fourth-best among all defensive ends at the combine and the best among all defensive tackles.
That's part of the game that Carter wanted to improve on the most heading into Monday's event.
“I really think my change of direction, for sure, and defensive line is all about changing direction," Carter said when asked what will show up the most as far as his body of work put in over the past few months. "I feel like I really improved on that part of the game.”
Carter has trained with Michael Johnson Performance in McKinney (Texas) over the past few months, and now he has the opportunity to take his talents to the next level, showing off his hard work and dedication to the game of football.
"I can move, I can change direction, I can run. I feel like I did great in position work. I just want to come out here and show that I’m one of the top defensive linemen in the draft.”
Though Carter wants to prove he's one of the top defensive linemen in the draft, he doesn't pay attention to mock drafts or the media, he just wants to control what he can control - himself.
"Whatever team takes, whatever round I go it’s a blessing, regardless, because I know a lot of guys would like to be in my shoes - Round 1 or Round 7, it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Time will tell, of course, but Carter certainly didn't lower his stock on Monday and it appears he's well on his way to joining the NFL ranks come April.
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