One of the toughest things to do in high school football is learn a new system on offense.
But Choctaw County’s Tylan Carter seems to be doing just fine with it.
Carter will be the Chargers’ signal caller again this year after leading the team to an 8-4 record last season. He’s also one of the Eleven Players to Watch for the Choctaw Plaindealer/Webster Progress Times this upcoming football season. Already named to the list are Israel Whitmore of Choctaw County High School, Parker Burleson of East Webster, and M.J. Thomas of Eupora.
But things will be much different for Carter this year under first-year head coach Jeff Roberts, who is ditching the wing-T offense for a spread offense that will feature more passing. Last year, Carter threw for 928 yards on 57-of-119 passing with nine touchdowns and just two interceptions. He rushed for 396 yards on 87 carries and led the team with 15 touchdowns.
Roberts said he has been pleased with what he has seen out of Carter so far.
“We are running a little bit different offense than we ran last year and he’s starting to pick it up,” Roberts said. “He has a good arm and throws a good out route, probably better than any I have seen. He throws a pretty good ball and he isn’t afraid to run it. He isn’t afraid of contact. If I call a run play, he’s going to stick his nose in there and will look for someone to hit.”
Carter showed flashes of being able to air it out last year. In a 64-14 win over Choctaw Central, Carter threw for 155 yards on 7-of-8 passing and had a season high 155 yards. His best game on the ground last year was in the 20-14 loss to Belmont in the first round of the playoffs as he rushed for a season high 186 yards on 22 carries.
Carter said he is looking forward to running the new offense and had fun with it in the spring.“I feel like the spread is going to be good for us,” Carter said. “It’s a lot faster paced than last year and I think that suits us. It’s no-huddle, but it’s been pretty easy. Coach Roberts has put us in a place where we have been able to the offense pretty well. The plays are pretty easy. I like the concepts and routes we are running.”
“He’s picking the system up pretty fast,” Roberts said. “In spring practice, I was signaling stuff to get people lined up on the ball and he was picking it up pretty good and I was really impressed by how quickly he learned the signals. But he’s a smart kid so it doesn’t really surprise me.”
With Carter running the show, Roberts is looking for more out of his quarterback.
“He has some things to develop and I think he can do that,” Roberts said. “He’s an athletic quarterback and a good looking kid. He has decent size and I think he could play safety for us two if we needed him to. He threw for 900 something yards last year so I’m hope to get more than that out of him the year. He works his butt off in the weight room so I think he should have a breakout season.”
Roberts said he knew he had something special in Carter when the rising junior, who stands at 6-foot and weighs 180 pounds, didn’t have to be told he had made a mistake.
“He also has some really good leadership qualities about him as well,” Roberts said. "He’s not a big vocal guy but he will coach the other players. And he takes coaching really well. If he does something wrong on a play, I go to him to tell him what he did and he already knows what he did wrong. That’s a good sign. If he messes up and knows what he did wrong and doesn’t have to be corrected on it, that’s a good thing. That’s something you can work with.”
Carter said he has average speed and benches 200 pounds and squats 365. He knows what he needs to work on.
“I need to get better on my agilities and speed,” Carter said. “I need to be faster. I’m going run a lot of 40s this summer and maybe push the sled and just do things that will make me faster. I go out and throw at targets a lot at home to work on my accuracy and arm strength.
As Carter gets ready for his junior season, he has seen his role expand and is embracing that.
“I think I have grown as a leader, trying to lead those guys to a winning season,” Carter said. “I feel like we are going to do well. It’s going to take hard work in the weight room and focus in practice and giving it everything we have got on the field.”
Carter said he wants to play college football and would like to major in physical education.
“I think he can play in college if that’s what he wants to do,” Roberts said. “He has a really strong arm. So I don’t doubt that he could play quarterback in college. But the thing about it is, he is athletic enough to play another position in college. He needs some good film this year and that will go a long way towards where he might go.”
