Back on Feb. 1, 2017, Florida boosted its recruiting class with a big close on National Signing Day. When all was said and done, defensive lineman Tedarrell Slaton (rated 4-stars as an offensive guard) was the highest-rated signee of the class. Slaton was a National Signing Day commitment. In the leadup to Signing Day, Hillsborough defensive lineman Zachary Carter was the highest-rated pledge, making him the face of the class.

In two years on campus, however, Carter hasn’t done much on the field at Florida. The Tampa native redshirted in 2017 and totaled eight tackles in nine games during 2018. Bob Redman of Swamp247 recently caught up with Carter’s teammates who think the redshirt sophomore is ready for a breakout season.

“I’ll tell you, Zach could be legendary. Zach has a gift of… he has an arsenal of moves,” junior defensive tackle Kyree Campbell told Redman. “So when he lines up against an offensive lineman, it’s not that he already has a move in his mind. I can see when he goes, he works his first move and if the first move doesn’t work he goes to a counter. And he’s good at picking that up quick. That’s what makes him a great player.”

Carter is listed at 263 pounds on the latest Florida roster. According to defender Jeremiah Moon, it needs an update.

“He came in at like 265 (pounds), and now he’s like 285,” Moon told Redman. “So he’s been working in the weight room with (strength) Coach (Nick) Savage. You can see improvement.”

Many fans have come to take players gushing about their teammates with a grain of salt as it’s to be expected during spring practice and fall camp. But if Carter, a former 4-star talent, has added 20+ pounds of strength with two seasons of maturity (and coaching) under his belt, Florida fans may start to see why he was a key part of the 2017 class.

More from Carter’s teammates and the man himself can be found in Redman’s article here.