Carter the Sweeper
Oklahoma's class, as of June 29, had just one linebacker committed. The Sooners now have four pledges at the position including Saturday's Rivals250 defensive commitment Lewis Carter. The 6-foot, 200-pound prospect was among Brent Venables' first offers upon his arrival in Norman and we break down his junior highlights at Tampa (Fla.) Catholic.
SoonerScoop.com Recruiting Editor Josh McCuistion: Watching Lewis play at so many different levels and doing so many different things it's somewhat hard not to be reminded of former Sooner standout Kenneth Murray.
That's not to say that Carter and Murray are similar styles of player, they simply aren't, but Carter shows a similar level of versatility and aids the idea of how many ways that Brent Venables and co. will be able to deploy his talent. That only becomes easier the more you watch his tape and realize just how smart Carter is, he sees things quickly and attacks them without hesitation.
But beyond comparisons and just looking at the tape itself, Carter is, for lack of a better football term a 'sweeper'. When he's not making plays behind the line of scrimmage he shows a great ability to shut a play down in open space before it begins to turn into a big play. He's a sure tackler that has some physicality on arrival but doesn't do it at the risk of over running the ball carrier.
What's interesting about that reality is that Carter does all of this while coming downhill with serious aggression. He closes well and while he can be a bit upright he has the quickness to change speed pretty naturally.
Again, his future position is a debatable point but there's no denying there's a number of roles he could fit into. And a big part of that flexibility is that he handles the passing game so well and figures to be a guy who makes some plays at various levels.
Player Comparison: Maybe I'm getting nostalgic here for the old days of Venables and Oklahoma but his speed, power, and versatility bring back some memories of former Sooner do-it-all weapon Ontei Jones.