Carter ready to step up as team’s starting striker
CORAL GABLES — It may have come as a surprise for some when Amari Carter was listed as the Miami Hurricanes’ starting striker over Gilbert Frierson with Carter recently moving to the position while Frierson was last season’s starter.
But to coach Manny Diaz, Carter is exactly where he should be after Carter and Frierson split reps at the position during preseason camp.
“Amari’s toughness — everybody’s seen that during his entire career here,” Diaz said. “His physicality is something we felt like we needed to increase in our front seven. It’s just a way to showcase his versatility.
“Amari looked very natural at it in the spring and has done nothing in training camp to suggest that’s not a great place for him.”
During the offseason, Carter moved from safety to the striker, which is Miami’s safety-linebacker hybrid position.
Carter, who’ll be a fifthyear senior this season, started at safety in Miami’s nine of 11 games in 2020 and first five of six games in 2019 before being moved into a rotational role for the remainder of the year.
He was recruited and signed to Miami as a safety prospect in 2017, but has welcomed the opportunity to play in the box more.
“Just being able to play safety and come down in the box and play striker a little bit, it’s given more, more to comprehend on a football level,” Carter said. “So far, I’m
loving the adjustment. I love playing defense, no matter where I’m at.”
Carter and Frierson are the top-two strikers listed on Miami’s roster for its season opener against Alabama on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with former striker Keontra Smith now playing weakside linebacker.
As the lesser experienced player at the position, Carter said he’s been seeking advice from Frierson and Smith.
“Those are my brothers, we talk all the time,” Carter added. “Just about the different positions, but it’s kind of mirrored — striker and [weakside linebacker], it’s just the Will is a little more in the box at times. Striker, we get taken out of the box a little bit more. They always giving me good advice. Little techniques and stuff like that.”
Although he’ll be used as Carter’s backup on Saturday, Diaz reassured that Frierson will play a significant role against the Crimson Tide, with the defense expected to be rotated regularly.
“Gilbert Frierson was a very consistent player for us a year ago and still provides a lot of value for us,” Diaz said. “Amari Carter, as I have been mentioned during training camp, is going to have to play some safety for us as well. We expect to play a bunch of guys on defense this year. I feel good about the guys we have but our depth as well.
“Most coaches get weary when you put the depth chart out. We have an old, experienced team. There are a lot of guys who are going to play in the game. A lot of the older guys, in our estimation, are better versions of themselves than they were a year ago.
Diaz added that UM is “notably faster than we were a year ago” after its changes in the defensive front seven, which include having Smith and Corey Flagg Jr. as the team’s starting weakside and middle linebacker, respectively, for Saturday.
“What you saw with [Smith] at Will is just a speed element, whether it’s in coverage, chasing plays down and just cover a lot of space,”