Paducah Tilghman’s Martels Carter Is Just Different From Most Athletes

Martels Carter Jr. is an elite athlete that not only Kentucky coaches Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow are pursuing but so are nearly 50 other schools. (X Photo)

Paducah Tilghman coach Sean Thompson knew a little bit about Martels Carter before he moved to Paducah before the start of the 2023 football season.

“One of my coaches used to coach with his father. I had seen film of him because of my assistant,” Thompson said. “Seeing him in person on the field, though, you immediately knew how special he was. He does things you do not typically see. I don’t even know how to explain it. I have never coached a kid with the explosion he has. He just practices and plays at a different level from others.”

The 6-1, 190-pound Carter already has about  50 Division I college scholarship offers to back up what Thompson said.

“He is heavily recruited and he should be,” the Paducah Tilghman coach said. “He works hard and I hope he ends in a situation that is really good for him in college.”

Carter had 43 catches for 1,066 yards and 10 scores in 13 games last season at Tilghman and also ran 17 times for 214 yards and three scores. He returned five punts for scores and had one kickoff return for a touchdown.

On defense, he had 44 tackles and three interceptions to help Tilghman reach the Class 4A semifinals where it lost to Covington Catholic.

While he has the size, speed and skill to be an offensive player in college, he’s being recruited primarily as a defensive back.

“He definitely a defensive back first. He plays offense and special teams  and probably his most immediate impact in college will be on special teams. You  can’t kick it to him. If you kick him the ball it is immediate offense,” Thompson said. “He is big, physical, fast and just different from most kids you see. He should be able to play anywhere in the secondary because he’s a very physical kid.

“The ball was not thrown his way much. He doesn’t get attacked very much in the passing game. I am not saying teams avoided him but he was not tested very much. We had a really good secondary but he made it elite. His leadership ability and ability to erase mistakes on the back of the defense is incredible. He has the ability to chase down and negate plays that usually are touchdowns.”

Thompson is not positive how fast Carter is. He’s been timed in 10.5 seconds in the 100-yard dash and 4.3 in the 40.

“I haven’t seen him have to run full speed on the football field or be in a situation where he had to completely open up,” the Paducah Tilghman coach said. “He is extremely explosive and you do not totally understand that until you hit him or get hit by him.”

Carter is originally from Rome, Ga., but moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., when his father became the head coach at Brainerd High School. He started both ways from Brainerd playing for his father — he played on an elite 7-on-7 team with UK freshman quarterback Cutter Boley.

His father, Martels Carter Sr., suffered a stroke last summer and the family opted to move to Paducah to be closer to his doctor there.

Football-wise, Carter Jr. did not miss a beat and recently narrowed his potential college choices to Oregon, Clemson, Tennessee, Auburn and Kentucky. But his father told Phillips Dukes on Five-Star Flex that the final three are Kentucky, Oregon and Clemson.

The Paducah Tilghman junior is ranked as the No. 173 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class by On3 and the No. 1 player in Kentucky. He’s made it clear that he’s friends with Boley but also likes Kentucky sophomore receiver Barion Brown.

“He is a big goober who likes to have fun. All this recruiting does not bother him at all,” Thompson said. “He is a humble kind which a lot of people forget because he looks like a grown man. He is big on wanting to prove people wrong who doubt him but he likes to have fun. He’s energetic, enthusiastic and usually happy to just be at work.

“He’s special. The two years before he came we struggled with the culture in our locker room. He was a big reason our kids became closer last season. The kids felt like they needed to match the energy he had every day.

“I would say he could go on a basketball court and impact the game. I know he could lock somebody down, get steals and rebound. He’s that good of an athlete. You just almost have to see him in person to know how good he is.”