North Gwinnett senior Barrett Carter was named the national defensive player of the year by the US Army All-American Bowl late on Friday.

The 6-foot-one-inch, 220-pound linebacker is a five-star prospect and is ranked as the No. 1 linebacker nationally by rivals.com.  Carter has received close to 60 college offers but signed his letter of intent in December to play for the Clemson Tigers football program over other top programs like Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and Florida. Carter is due to play safety for Clemson.

Carter is a versatile player who was a key playmaker on both sides of the ball for the North Gwinnett Bulldogs.  According to tigernet.com in a recent state playoff game, Carter had 197 yards rushing on 17 carries on the offense. Then he turned around and had a great defensive performance with eight tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery. He finishes out his high school career with 162 tackles, 27 tackles for loss of which 18 were sacks and 116 tackles were solo tackles.

Above Photo:  Barrett Carter rushes against Mill Creek during his senior year.  Photo by William Curtis for Quick Release Photography.

— Staff Reports