Martels Carter, right, came to UK as a defensive player but seems to have a future on offense, too. (UK Athletics Photo)
No one should really be surprised with the way UK redshirt freshman Martels Carter embraced the move from the defensive secondary to the offensive backfield during spring practice.
The former Paducah Tilghman standout was a two-way player in high school who was MVP of the 2024 Class 4A state title game when he had nine catches for 189 yards, five solo tackles, two assists and one tackle for loss.
Carter indicated over a year ago that he would like a chance to play both ways at Kentucky.
“I’m just taking it one day at a time, being really strong, going defense, and making my wishes known. Hopefully, they see what I’m doing on defense, and they start to roll me in on offense, too,” Carter said in March of 2025.
Paducah Tilghman coach Sean Thompson said Carter was “most explosive with the ball in his hand and I do believe he could play some both ways” when he picked UK over Auburn, Clemson, Oregon, Tennessee and about 50 others. He noted then that Carter had run 23 miles per hour in high school practices and thought UK might use Carter as both defensive back and receiver.
Running back injuries led coach Will Stein and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to move Carter to part-time running back in spring practice. Transfers CJ Baxter and Jovantae Barnes were both limited in the spring coming off injuries. Carter got four carries for 22 yards and a touchdown in the Blue-White Game Saturday.
“I’m very proud of him just for making a change,” Stein said after the scrimmage. “That’s hard on a young man who is playing safety and because you don’t know what the future really holds. I’ll tell you about this, Martels Carter is about Kentucky, he’s about the team. And what I saw every day from him was improvement.
“You all saw out there. He’s got natural running back ability. He does. He catches the ball well. He’s got good vision.”
Carter played in four games in 2025 to protect his redshirt status. He played only on defense but that could certainly change this season.
“I’m excited about the future of him at running back,” Stein said. “We’ll continue to press this summer and fall and get him into a spot to be productive for us.”
2 Responses
Can Stein be the basketball coach too? I mean he's not considered a genius like Pope is but do you see what having common sense to go with intelligence does for you?? Stein is going to lead Kentucky to places we have never been. Not because he's the smartest guy who should have been a doctor, but because he sees things that other people don't. He knows what it takes to win and he coaches hard. He's going to make you a great football player even if your not one. That's what makes a coach a great coach. If you can see a vision in a player and mold him into that vision and that's what Stein is great at doing. He is going to coach you until you get to the level that he thinks you can be and sometimes players when pushed hard will also push themselves to a level nobody thought they would be. I think you will see this with DJ Miller and Hardley Gilmore this year. Watch the defense as well. I'm looking for a big jump from Gadson, Humphrey Grace, and Ty Bryant. Watch these 3 players have All SEC caliber season. Also watch out for Castell, Gates, and Godfrey. All these players were already starter good but they will turn another corner and dominate this year. Watch Willie Rodriguez, Jason Patterson, and Mikkel Skinner. 3 guys that's were under used last year by Stoops and all 3 are ready to have a breakout season. I'm also big on Henry Boyer and Coffman. I think they can also have breakout seasons. Ferguson from Arkansas also looks great and Kenny Darby could be all freshman team this year. I also really like Ben Duncum true freshman who has a redshirt juniors body.
Always informative & insightful. Thanks, Terry.
A coach with tunnel vision will limit players and put them into a box, a hole, the coach chooses. Stein has a vision which is flexible and can fit moving parts into his plan where the players get to show their strengths and if it’s in multiple ways or positions, he is willing to look at the extra ways a player wants to contribute. This not only opens a door for more uses for a player but it also keeps the player motivated and excited instead of thinking he is trapped in a box the coach chose for him.
Some coaches can adapt to use players to maximize the benefit of their strengths. Others don’t know how to adapt their schemes to best use talent that can’t fit into a box which limits ability to perform at the highest level.