Former Clemson LB Making Waves In Rookie Campaign

Following four seasons with the Clemson Tigers, linebacker Barrett Carter is looking to provide his aid to the Cincinnati Bengals defense, and he’s standing out in the preseason. 

In the Bengals’ second preseason game of the year against the Washington Commanders, Carter read the eyes of quarterback Sam Hartman and picked him off on Washington’s own 35-yard line. It was the Clemson standout’s first interception of the preseason. 

Carter would finish the game with seven total tackles, a tackle for a loss, and a pass deflection in addition to the turnover. 

The Bengals chose the first team All-ACC selection in the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft, being selected with the 119th pick, with hopes of Carter being a late-round sleeper. With a performance like the one on Monday night, his chances just got better. 

In the first week of the preseason, Carter recorded a sack and a quarterback hit against the Philadelphia Eagles, beginning the campaign strongly. 

While a strong start is always helpful for the amount of snaps that he could see in the regular season, Carter, similar to his approach at Clemson, he’s simply looking to help the team win games at whatever cost, no matter where he is. 

“That’s not up to me to decide,” Carter said. “I’m just trying to come in every day and just get 1% better. Whatever my role looks like with this team, I can live with the results knowing that I pay the price, I work my tail off to get here, so whatever my role looks like with this team, I can live with the results, but I just want to help us win games.”

Coming out of high school, the five-star recruit was the top player at the linebacker position in the Class of 2021, being the No. 18-ranked player in the class, according to 247Sports. Playing at North Gwinnett High School, the 6-foot-1 chose Clemson in May of 2020. 

Carter played for the Tigers from 2021 to 2024, finishing with the most snaps at the Clemson linebacker position in program history, starting in 40 of his 52 appearances with the team. Carter saw two first team All-ACC nods in 2022 and 2024, finishing with the second-team honor in 2023. 

The Suwanee, Georgia, native stuffed the statsheet across his four seasons with Clemson. He was the only player in the country with 30 tackles for a loss, 20 pass breakups, and more than three interceptions in the four years that he played at the collegiate level. 

A veteran leader who was a cornerstone of the Tiger defense, Carter’s next chapter will look to continue to lead by example at the professional level, this time with a different team in stripes.

More From Clemson Tigers on SI