Jets' Michael Carter: 'I Really Never Felt Like a Rookie'
By definition, Michael Carter is a rookie.
Click his name online, on the Jets' depth chart, and you'll find a big fat "R" under his NFL experience.
And yet, the running back fresh out of North Carolina doesn't feel like a rookie. In fact, he never did.
"All the guys know that. They'd be like 'oh, what's up rook?' I'm not a rookie, it's just my first year," Carter told reporters earlier this week. "I'm not joking either. I really never felt like a rookie. Never. They drafted me to play."
That veteran mindset goes in line with Carter's development between the lines this season, blossoming from a fourth-round pick into one of New York's most effective and dynamic threats on offense. Both on the ground and through the air.
Carter has racked up 673 yards from scrimmage entering play in Week 11. No other Jets player has more than 442 total yards this season. He leads the team with 367 rushing yards as well.
The bulk of that production has come in the last few weeks. Carter eclipsed 100 yards for the first time back in Week 7 against New England, accumulating 37 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards.
That jump in receiving was a sign of things to come from that point forward. Sure, Carter set a new career high with 77 rushing yards in New York's upset victory over the Bengals, but he also had 95 yards through the air on 14 targets and nine catches.
READ: Jets’ Rookie Michael Carter Is Running Toward Daylight
Then, Carter put up 86 and 82 yards from scrimmage, respectively, in the Jets' next two games, settling into a primary role in the backfield during the Jets' quarterback controversy.
Asked how he's been able to find some success midway through the season, Carter credited his comfortability. It takes time to adjust and build relationships with your teammates at the NFL level, Carter said, and with a few months under his belt, the running back has found his stride on and off the field.
"Not only within the game, but just my teammates. You get drafted to a team and you don't know anybody," Carter explained. "It's cool getting to know my teammates more. Being able to know what they like and don't like and see things before they happen."
His teammates have praised Carter routinely throughout the season. Most recently, seventh-year running back Tevin Coleman sounded off on how impressive Carter has been.
"He handles himself like a vet," Coleman told reporters. "How he comes in, prepares, how he takes notes, how he takes care of his body, how he comes in with positive energy, that helps a lot. He comes in here like a vet, he works hard and does everything like a vet. That's amazing to see."
Carter has played his way into the Jets' franchise record books as well. He's the first rookie running back with at least four touchdowns since Leon Washington in 2006. Carter has scored all four of his touchdowns in the last six weeks.
"His balance is just, as you guys have seen, it’s pretty incredible because he just doesn’t go down usually from the first contact," offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur added this week. "It’s not because he’s Jerome Bettis, people bouncing off. He’s just a slippery dude with great contact balance and a will and a want to. He’s a dude you root for and it’s cool to watch the production he’s having. I think there’s a lot of good days ahead for him."
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