Penn State-bound Kyle Carter destined to be Nittany Lion

William Penn tight end is a model student-athlete.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Jon Buzby
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Jul 5, 2010, 7:39am
William Penn (New Castle, Del.) High senior Kyle Carter is no quitter. And because of that, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior tight end has been offered and verbally accepted a football scholarship from Penn State University.
 
“I’ve always wanted to go to Penn State,” Carter said in a phone interview last week after returning from the campus and his first meeting with legendary coach Joe Paterno. “Even when I was a little kid playing video games, I chose to be the Penn State team.”
 
The ironic thing is that Carter almost quit the sport before he even played in his first game. In fact, he says if not for his father, he might never have stuck it out.
 
“I always wanted to be a wide receiver or running back, but because of weight restrictions in the league I was forced to play on the offensive and defensive lines,” Carter said of his first experience playing football in the sixth grade. “I wanted to quit after the first week of practice, but my dad told me to go hard and fit in where the coaches thought I should. After a few tackles and blocks in my first game, I started appreciating football for the game that it is. I was glad I listened to him.”
 
From that point on Carter began to not only enjoy football, but excel at it, and now heading into his senior season and with the college decision process behind him, he can focus solely on the one goal he has set for his team: to win a state championship.
 
“The team has been talking about winning it all since last year,” he said. “The coaches have told us this team is further along than any team they’ve ever had. We’re more dedicated and more like a family. I’ve tried to make an effort, along with the other seniors, to preach to the underclassmen that we have to be really dedicated in the off-season to win a championship.”
 
That dedication has included not only participating in a local weekly 7-on-7 summer league and hitting the weight room as a team, but also competing at the annual Rutgers 7-on-7 Shootout, a first-time experience for all of the William Penn players.”
 
“I wanted my teammates to see the dedication other kids in other states have in the offseason, and also what the level of football that is played outside of Delaware is like,” said Carter, who took the lead in organizing the team’s participation in the event on the North Jersey campus. “I know if we play with the intensity the players did at the Shootout, we’ll be tough to beat here in Delaware this year.”
 
Rutgers showed an interest but never made the talented tight end an official offer, and despite receiving scholarship offers from the University of Delaware and Bucknell, Carter says there was never a doubt that Penn State would be a perfect fit for him. William Penn coach Bill Cole agrees: “Penn State is a top-notch school academically as well as athletically and it is close enough for his parents and friends to see him play. They also feature a lot of tight ends in their offense, and I would like to think that they run their program similar to how we try to approach things here at William Penn -- by winning the right way.”
 
Carter says the possibility that the 83-year-old Paterno might not be around his entire playing career at Penn State didn’t even cross his mind when making his decision. Instead, it was the overall program, both academics and athletics, which attracted him to the school. He carries a 3.5 GPA having taken all college prep and honors classes in high school, and plans to major in Kinesiology at Penn State.
 
“Although quiet, Kyle made his presence known in the classroom not only because of his height but because of his intelligence, diligence and patience with the rest of his classmates,” said Khatlen Kerrane, who taught Carter in Spanish II. “My first thought when I think of Kyle is a well-rounded student, easy going, and a true gentleman.”
 
“Kyle embodies all the things that a coach, teacher, or parent would want from a young man,” Cole added. “He is a gifted athlete, but more importantly he is a good student and an even better person.”
 
Carter points to his participation at the invitation-only 2009 Ultimate 100 East Combine as the key moment when he became confident he could play Division I football, saying, “After going up against the best high school players in the region and receiving the wide receiver/tight end MVP award at the combine, I knew I would have the opportunity to play at the next level.”
 
That opportunity is still a year away, when Carter will leave the comforts of home and head to Happy Valley. He says he’s looking forward to that day, but at the same time, the only child admits it will be difficult saying goodbye to his parents.
 
“Being away from my mom and dad will be tough. They’ve had the biggest influence on my life. They pushed me to do my best and always told me to give 100 percent and not take anything lightly. Because of them, that’s the motto I live by.”
 
Recruiting news
Wilmington Charter (Wilmington, Del.) running back Brandon Ross and Salesianum (Wilmington, Del.) lineman Evan Mulrooney have each made a verbal commitment to play football at the University of Maryland.
 
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and occasional color commentator for the 1290am The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.

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