T.J. Carter

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Photo by: Matthew Smith

TJ Carter vs. Mercer 9/01/18 Celebration

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Photo by: Erik Williams

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Position:
DB
Ht./Wt.:
5-11 / 189
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Nashville, Tenn.
Prev School:
Stratford HS

Honors

• 2017-18 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team
• Dean’s List for the 2017 fall semester
• Tiger 3.0 Club for the 2017 fall and 2018 spring semesters
• 2017 USA Today Freshman All-America Team
• 2017 ESPN.com Freshman All-America Team
• 2017 American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year
• 2017, 2018 All-American Athletic Conference second team
• Picked up the Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honor Oct. 23, 2017
• Also earned The American and CollegeSportsMadness.com AAC Defensive Player of the Week accolades that same week

2020 (Senior)

• Named to the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List
• Member of the 8-3 Tigers who won the 2020 Montgomery Bowl
• Appeared in seven games on the season, earning five starts
• Totaled 11 tackles, eight solo, with one fumble recovery and three pass breakups
• Had a season-high four stops and a fumble recovery in the Montgomery Bowl
• Notched a pass breakup in three-straight games, getting one each against Stephen F. Austin, at Navy and at Tulane

2019 (Junior)

• Named honorable mention all-conference after appearing in 12 of 14 games and finishing with 39 tackles (30 solo), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and seven pass breakups
• Had nine multi-tackle games and had five or more tackles in four games, including a season-best eight tackles in a nationally televised win over SMU on ABC
• Had his consecutive starts streak snapped at 39 after suffering an injury in the regular-season finale win over Cincinnati
• Forced and recovered his third career fumble on the road at Temple
• A foot injury forced him to miss both the AAC Championship game and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl
• Prior to that, he had started every game at Memphis dating back to his true freshman season

2018 (Sophomore)

• After a stellar freshman campaign in 2017, opponents threw away from his side of the field in 2018
• Despite that, led squad in passes defended (14) and PBU (12)
• Tied for team lead with two interceptions
• Sixth in The American in passes defended
• Third on team with 68 total hits (58 solo)
• His 58 solo stops were second on the team
• Had multi-tackle performances in all 14 games • Recorded a season-best 11 total tackles (10 solo) vs UCF in The American Championship Game
• The 10 solo hits were a season-high
• Logged a career-high four passes defended (interception/3 PBU) in a home win over Houston that clinched the league’s West Division title
• His interception vs Houston came late in the fourth quarter and ended the Cougars’ last scoring threat inside the Memphis 10-yard line
• In the season opener vs Mercer, had two total tackles and three passes defended (interception/2 PBU)
• His interception came midway through the first quarter and was returned for a TD to give Memphis a 21-0 lead
• The interception return for a TD was the first of his collegiate career
• Had six solo stops and three PBU in a road win at ECU
• Credited with four total hits (3 solo) and two PBU in a key road victory at SMU
• His two PBU came in the fourth quarter with Memphis holding off a Mustangs’ rally
• Registered eight solo tackles and one PBU vs Wake Forest in the Birmingham Bowl

2017 (Freshman)

• Started all 13 games in the defensive backfield in his first collegiate season
• Team’s fifth-leading tackler with 69 total stops (54 solo)
• Led the team in total takeaways (7), passes defended (16), interceptions (5) and interception return yards (74)
• Tied for the team lead in fumble recoveries (2)
• Also had one forced fumble and one TFL
• Recorded 11 multi-tackle games, including six contests with six or more total hits
• Had career game in a road win at Houston with highs for total stops (14) and solo hits (11)
• Tied highs for assisted tackles (3) and interceptions (1) vs the Cougars
• Recorded his first collegiate forced fumble vs Houston
• Key play came after Memphis took a 42-38 lead with under 1:30 to play
• Ran down Houston QB Kyle Postma near midfield and forced the fumble that was recovered by Jonathan Cook, ending a potential go-ahead scoring drive for the Cougars
• Came up with a key interception to seal the win for Memphis over Houston
• With under :50 left on the clock, Houston drove the ball to near midfield again, but on a second-and-10 play, picked off Postma and ended the Cougars’ final threat
• Logged his first collegiate interception in a home win over UCLA
• With Memphis clinging to a 48-45 lead and UCLA deep in Tigers’ territory, picked off a Josh Rosen pass at the 10-yard line and returned it 42 yards to end the Bruins’ scoring threat (Memphis won 48-45)
• Also registered his first collegiate fumble recovery vs the Bruins
• Had seven total tackles vs UCLA (6 solo)
• Posted four solo stops in his collegiate debut vs Louisiana Monroe
• Also had interceptions vs Connecticut and UCF twice
• Wrapped up freshman campaign with eight total stops (5 solo) and two PBU vs Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Prior to Memphis/Personal

• Two-way performer at RB on offense and DB on defense
• Scout.com rated him the No. 1 DB in the state of Tennessee
• Top-20 player in the state of Tennessee by 247Sports.com (No. 13), Rivals.com (No. 13) and ESPN.com (No. 19)
• Top-50 DB nationally by Rivals.com (No. 32) and 247Sports.com (No. 46)
• Played his final season of prep football for head coach Maurice Fitzgerald at Stratford High School in 2016 • Before Stratford, starred at Hendersonville High School in 2014 and 2015
• Posted impressive numbers his senior campaign, piling up 2,138 all-purpose yards and 22 TDs • Rushed for 1,293 yards and 14 TDs and caught 33 passes for 440 yards and six scores
• Also rolled up 373 return yards and two TDs on special teams
• On defense, collected 66 total tackles, two INT and two PBU
• Helped lead the Spartans to an 11-1 record and a 6-0 Class 3A Region 5 mark
• Team posted a perfect 10-0 regular-season record
• Spartans earned a Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) Class 3A Division I playoffs berth and advanced to the second round
• 2016 honors included: Tennessee Titans Mr. Football for TSSAA Division I Class 3A Back semifinalist, Tennessean Mid-State Player of the Year finalist, TSWA Class 3A All-State Team (DB), TSSAA Class 3 Region 5 MVP and Toyota East-West All-Star Classic
• In the preseason, named to the Tennessean’s Dandy Dozen list (No. 9)
• As a junior at Hendersonville High School, finished 2015 campaign as the Commandos’ leading rusher (1,084 yards/155 carries/10 TDs) and leading receiver (16 receptions/226 yards/3 TDs)
• On defense, had 25 total tackles and 11 PBU
• Also returned 10 punts for 204 yards and one score
• 2015 honors included: Tennessean All-Mid-State second team (DB), Region 6-5A Specialty Player of the Year, All-Region 6-5A, Sumner County Special Teams Player of the Year and Main Street Media of Tennessee All-Sumner County first team
• Helped Hendersonville to an 11-2 record and a TSSAA Class 5A Division I playoffs berth
• As a sophomore in 2014, earned All-District 9-AAA honors
• Son of Nyke Merrell and Terrell Carter