Martels Carter Will Make College Choice May 25

Martels Carter is the top-ranked recruit in Kentucky.

Kentucky’s 2025 football recruiting could get a huge boost May 25th when Paducah Tilghman’s Martels Carter, a top 200 player nationally, makes his college choice.

He’s a four-star prospect who has been on the Kentucky campus multiple times and has Auburn, Colorado and Louisville as his other finalists from the more than 50 scholarship offers he has.

The 6-1, 190-pound Carter has been timed in 10.5 seconds in the 100-yard dash and 4.3 in the 40.

Carter moved to Paducah before the start of the 2023 season 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.

“I have never coached a kid with the explosion he has. He just practices and plays at a different level from others,” Paducah Tilghman coach Sean Thompson said. “He is heavily recruited and he should be. He works hard and I hope he ends up in a situation that is really good for him in college.”

As impressive as Carter’s offensive numbers were in 2023, Thompson said college coaches envision him as an elite secondary player.

“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. 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.”

Kentucky does not have a defensive commitment in its 2025 recruiting class.