Notre Dame DT Target Jarquez Carter Has Huge Upside
This past summer, 2025 Newberry (Fla.) High School defensive tackle Jarquez Carter made his first visit to Notre Dame and absolutely loved the trip. Over the next couple of months after, there was a little break in communication for whatever reason. Recently, however, that communication has picked up in a big way.
Carter is now hearing from the Irish staff almost everyday. When you pop on the film, it’s easy to see why. Carter’s head coach at Newberry, Ed Johnson, gave some insight into his star defender and what makes him so special.
"The first thing that pops out about Jarquez is his explosiveness,” Johnson said. "He is such a sudden athlete and gets off the line with so much force and power. His explosiveness is some of the best in the country. He is great with his hands, plays with a high motor and has a great football IQ. Jarquez really brings everything to the table you would want.
"From sophomore to junior year, he grew a couple inches of height and put on around 10 to 15 pounds of weight,” he continued. "It was good weight as well. He works hard and is really reaping the benefits of that hard work. He gets double teamed every Friday, and sometimes triple teamed. Jarquez has shown that he can be durable and be a consistent force.”
That growth, both as a player and physically, isn’t a surprise to Coach Johnson. Carter is the definition of a grinder on and off the field. The work he puts in when nobody is looking is something that really separates him.
"He flirted around with basketball again this offseason but I don’t think he is going to play,” Johnson stated. "Jarquez is just back at the grind. He has a crazy schedule. He comes in at 5 AM to workout in the weight room, goes to school, and then comes to our offseason workouts after as well. Then at 7 every night, he is out working with his defensive line trainer. He does that schedule three times a week and loves it.”
On top of being an excellent student, and dominant athlete, Carter is also dealing with the recruiting chaos currently. While it can be stressful to some, Carter has been managing it well. He is a goal oriented individual who does see the bigger picture.
"Jarquez just had a coach tell him to not let the process get too stressful,” he explained. "There were four coaches who just came through the school today to see him but he never lets it go to his head. He is a very grounded kid. He knows that one of his dreams is going to be coming true soon but also understands that it isn’t the only dream. His future is really bright.”
With Carter being a Florida kid, he knows about Notre Dame but is still continuing to learn. The visit was a great step. The Irish continue to be a school to watch for the talented defensive tackle.
"I haven't talked to Jarquez about every conversation he has, but I know Notre Dame has been checking in regularly,” he said. "They are a program that definitely has his interest. They have kept themselves on the front of his mind. He really loved gus trip up there in the summer. It was pretty eye opening for him.”
Carter has seen a ton of attention recently, from some very big programs. So far schools like Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Miami, Penn State, Tennessee, Missouri, Louisville, Duke, Cincinnati and UCF among others.
That comes off of what was an absolute dominant junior campaign for the 6-2, 280-pound monster. In 12 games, Carter recorded 67 total tackles, 37 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He also had another 15 quarterback hurries.
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