The Boz of Bolles? How a 1980s All-American, two Jaguars inspire Super 11 LB Trent Carter

It's a charging rhinoceros. It's a steamroller.

No, it's Trent Carter.

Hard-charging, hard-hitting and hard to escape on the football field, the Bolles linebacker joins the Times-Union's annual Super 11 of the top-rated senior high school prospects in Northeast Florida.

He's currently listed at 6-3 and 217 pounds. Based on the turnovers he creates, he's shown he can deliver the force of a player far bigger. And while run support is his specialty, he's worked to diversify his skills for the 11-time state champion Bulldogs.

"I definitely got a lot smarter making my reads, and I just matured a lot," he said. "That happens with age and moving up and playing longer with the same people."

A throwback in more ways than one, Carter said he embraces the style of Brian Bosworth, the two-time Butkus Award winner and All-American linebacker at Oklahoma in the mid-1980s.

"The Boz, with his hair when he played, I like to play like him a little bit, even dyed my hair blond last year," he said.

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THROWBACK APPROACH

On 110 occasions last year, opposing ball carriers found themselves on the receiving end of a tackle from the rising senior. And when that happens, there's a pretty good chance they'll remember the impact from the Boz of Bolles.

His tackles jarred loose six fumbles in his junior year, among the top figures in Florida. Carter recovered three loose balls himself, and found plenty of other ways to shake up the game with an interception, four pass breakups and 14 tackles for loss.

Carter's love for contact goes back to his earliest days on the gridiron, when coaches realized he was a natural linebacker in the making.

"I was always a little bigger than everybody else, so that's where I got put," he said. "And then I'm pretty aggressive, so everybody thought linebacker when they saw me."

It's that kind of throwback approach that's earned him Division I scholarship offers into the double figures. Rated as a three-star prospect by the national recruiting analysts, he committed in May to Louisville, a program that he considers an ideal fit.

"They like the old-school linebackers that played fast, downhill, violent," he said, "and that's how I like to play."

JAGUARS SHOWED THE WAY

While Carter draws inspiration from Bosworth for his style on the outside, he's developed his technique and mindset with help from two mentors who enjoyed more lasting careers in the NFL.

Carter credited former Jaguars linebackers Lonnie Marts and Bryan Schwartz — the latter is the father of former Bolles teammate and current Minnesota lineman Hayden Schwartz — with helping him to grow on and off the field. Both played on the Jaguars' AFC Central-winning team in 1999.

"They definitely love pouring into the youth, and they kind of took me under their wing," Carter said.

That guidance, he said, has helped him learn when to plow ahead, steamroller-fashion, and when to apply the brakes. It's a trait that helped Bolles to the Florida High School Athletic Association's Region 1-2S championship last year, and a trip to the state final four.

"I've definitely learned to calm down in tough situations. I've been in pretty big games," he said. "Last year, we played American Heritage in the semis, a real respected team where I had to tackle Mark Fletcher, a crazy good running back. I think that helps a lot with having the experience."

That experience has helped Carter prepare for his final year at Bolles and his third as a starter, as the team chases what would be its first FHSAA title since 2011. After that, he's eagerly awaiting his chance to make college football memories at Louisville.

"Coach [Jeff] Brohm's building a great family environment there, and I just loved everything about it," he said.

LB Trent Carter

School: Bolles

Height/weight: 6-3, 217.

Recruiting status: Committed to Louisville.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Trent Carter, Bolles: Northeast Florida 2023 Super 11 football