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Running back Jaylin Carter named American Offensive Player of the Week
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- Running back Jaylin Carter named American Offensive Player of the Week
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The American Conference named running back Jaylin Carter the Offensive Player of the Week after he ran for four touchdowns in the Tigers' 42-24 win over Arkansas State . Carter has played a massive role for the team during the first two weeks of the season, and the award recognized his success in week zero and week one.
In week zero, Carter ran for 97 yards and a touchdown on a 36-yard run. It was Memphis' only rushing touchdown of the game and showcased the running back's big-play potential.
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He led the team in yards and carries and showed that he can be the team's top running back in a crowded room.
He followed that performance up with 183 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday against the Red Wolves. Again, Carter led the team in carries and averaged 9.6 yards per game.
He also recorded one catch for 18 yards.
After the game, Huff raved about his running back and said that he brought Carter with him because of the player and person he is.
"I brought him with me for a reason," Huff said. "He's a phenomenal kid."
Carter appeared in nine games as a true freshman and recorded 166 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and 133 yards on 20 receptions. Huff said that he's the perfect player because he will do whatever the coaches ask him in order to win.
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"The beauty of Jaylin Carter is he just wants to win," Huff said. "If we tell him he needs to play receiver, he'll play receiver. If we tell him we need him to run for 100, he'll run for 100."
After the first game of the season, Huff talked about how the running backs were getting too sped up in the backfield instead of waiting for the offensive line to create a hole, but Carter said that he had more patience against the Red Wolves and led the holes develop before hitting them.
Quarterback Marcus Stokes compared him to former NFL running back Le'Veon Bell in the way uses patience in the backfield.
"It's like watching Le'Veon Bell kind of," Stokes said. "It's just like patience. That's all I can say just patience."
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With two games under his belt, Carter is leading college football with a 280 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. While he has the advantage or one more game under his belt, he has less carries than Duke running back Nate Sheppard , who ran for 227 yards on 35 carries in his first games against Tulane.
Carter has the making to be an electric back for the Tigers this season, and winning the conference's first Offensive Player of the Year award of the season is a nice start.
