Eagles SI EXCLUSIVE: Jalen Carter - The Other Side of a ‘Gentle Giant’
APOPKA, Florida - The hot sun of a Florida summer beams down on Jalen Carter as he hosts his second annual free youth football camp. At Apopka High School, Carter’s former stomping grounds. The heat melts away the shell hiding his introverted persona, and the misunderstood Philadelphia Eagles rookie reveals who he is at his core.
“I still feel like a kid,” Carter told me in our 1-on-1 interview for EaglesToday.com at SI. “It’s just that when you’re higher up, you’ve gotta keep it professional and be a man, but out here at Apopka, you can be yourself; have fun. I’m still a kid, though.”
In many ways, Carter, the No. 9 pick of the recent NFL Draft, is just a 22-year-old young man getting to live out his childhood dream.
“Talking to him going up to the draft, I was like, ‘What do you want?’” Apopka’s high school head football head coach, Jeff Rolson, said. “He was like, ‘I’d really like to go to the Eagles,’ Coaches response…’ Well, we’re gonna pray that you go to the Eagles,’ and it happened. I’m happy; I know he’s happy.”
Despite his success at a young age, Carter’s path to the NFL featured adversity, and that same kid with NFL dreams is dealing with a very grown-up situation, burdened by a lawsuit stemming from a car-racing fatality.
“Shortly after the national championship, Jalen was involved in a tragic accident, Carter’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said to the crowd assembled over the weekend at the kids’ camp. “A lot of people would’ve just given up at that point, not Jalen. No matter what the adversity, he was determined to make it to the NFL.”
Added Rosenhaus: “People said things about him that weren’t true. People made up lies. Many in the media came after him unfairly. He did not give up. He’s a wonderful person and human being. He cares about his family and his teammates.”
Accompanying the headline-grabbing ‘Breadman’ Carter’s Incredible Hulk-esque persona as a player is his own version of Bruce Banner. Hidden inside the once-dominant Georgia Bulldogs’ defensive tackle is a shy kid from the south side of Apopka named Jalen.
The former SEC star finds comfort in giving back to his community and lets his guard down while coaching the kids. When watching him celebrate impressive catches and dance alongside the children participating in drills, it becomes clear that he’s young like them and adjusting to the spotlight and media narrative surrounding him.
Carter’s mother, Toni Brown, credits his love for Apopka as a motivator of his success. “Jalen’s always had a passion for kids and his community,” she said, adding that Carter also gives back to the city that shaped him with backpack giveaways for students entering a new school year, donating Thanksgiving meals, and providing toys to children at Christmas.
His love for the community is reciprocated. Among the dozens attending the event at Roger Williams Field were former teammates, coaches, and proud Apopka Alumni, including U.S.A. Olympian Donald Scott, who won bronze in the Triple Jump at the 2022 World Indoor Championships and said he’s “feeling good” as he prepares for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Also present were Carter’s first coaches, Todd Peterson, Courtney Young, and Jerel Forshee. Peterson convinced Brown to let Carter play tackle football, explaining that her third-grade son would be the one dealing out punishment on the gridiron, not absorbing it.
The coaches reminisced, laughing about how young Carter won MVP of a championship game as an offensive lineman. Sharing numerous stories of the half-decade they spent coaching him, during which they won multiple national titles and used him on both sides of the ball long before Georgia ever did.
“I remember they convinced me to let Jalen run the ball, and it was just lights out,” Young said. “You’d just see this big ol’ kid with a big ol’ head running down the field. Nobody could tackle the kid. We were just trying to score 50 points back then.”
At the time, his coaches had a simpler goal than making the NFL in mind. “We wanted to make sure that he had structure from us coaching him to become a really good man. Obviously, he’s done that,” Peterson said. “He’s done it for the city and everyone involved in his life. It’s major for him.”
Yet among all the praise and congratulatory welcomes from those who know him best, Carter has remained humble, saying, "I'm still the same person." Young said, “He’s this big gentle giant off the field,” Peterson added, “To the rest of the world, that’s Jalen Carter, but to us, it’s still Jalen. It’s amazing to know him.”
Matt Anderson, Carter’s Apopka High School defensive line coach, spoke highly of his work ethic, how he led by example, and about forcing him to tone down his high-motor efforts so he didn’t “just wreck everything at practice.”
That person is a large part of why Rosenhaus prioritized signing Carter. “I think he’s an even better person than player,” Rosenhaus said.
A testament to Carter’s character, considering his agent’s prediction that Carter will “become the best defensive player in the NFL.” As for Carter, he shared that he’s ready for Eagles training camp, saying, “I’m ready to turn up and make a big impact every game!”
Despite the expectations of NFL stardom, Carter left his goals and worries in the shade, instead prioritizing the Apopka community he loves more than football, focusing on the sun lit up the faces of football-loving children.
“I’m out here for the kids,” Carter told us. “I’m ready to have fun ... Kids don’t judge you. If you have fun with them, you have a good day every day.”
You can follow Isaiah DeAnda Delgado on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @IsaiahDDelgado.
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