Blue Devil's return: Stanton hires former DB Ryan Carter as new head football coach
Ryan Carter is taking the first step of his head coaching career on familiar turf.
Stanton announced Carter, who graduated from the school just over a decade ago, as the Jacksonville academic magnet's next football coach on Wednesday.
Carter had most recently served on Toby Bullock's staff at Mandarin, which qualified for the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 4M state final in December.
At Stanton, Carter takes the place of Mike Healey, who retired after the season after a head coaching career that spanned a Duval County-record 48 years across multiple schools both inside and outside Jacksonville.
A Jacksonville native, Carter previously lined up for Stanton in the defensive backfield, graduating in 2013, and subsequently played college football at NCAA Division II LaGrange College in Georgia.
Stanton finished 2-7 during the 2023 football season, winning against Harvest Community and Cocoa Beach, continuing a pattern of struggle on the field for the academic magnet school. The Blue Devils last finished above .500 in 2017, when they went 6-4, and have never qualified for an FHSAA regional playoff.
For 2024, Stanton is currently scheduled to compete as an independent in the FHSAA's new classification.
Stanton becomes the second Duval County public school to fill a coaching vacancy during the off-season. In December, Jackson hired former Mandarin state champion Bobby Ramsay from Impact Christian.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ryan Carter: Stanton College Prep hires new head football coach
