WR Carter emerging as a downfifield threat

Junior not onlymaking more catches but also making key blocks.

Malachi Cartermade two highlightreel catches inGeorgiaTech’s 46- 27 win over Louisville on Fridaynight, including a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put the Yellow Jackets up by 12 and cement the victory.

But for Tech coach Geoffff Collins, thejuniorwidereceiver’sbest play of the game was one where he didn’t even touch the ball.

Late in the fifirst half, with Tech trailing 21- 7, freshman quarterback Jeffff Sims found freshman running back Jahmyr Gibbs on a screen. Gibbs turned it into a 41- yardgainto setupa touchdown three plays later. Carter’s downfifield block to open the lane for Gibbs became what Collins said was one of his favorite plays that Carter made in the game.

“Two key blocks on that play were Malachi Carter and Ahmarean Brown,” Collins said Tuesday. “Blocking downfield at a high level, within the framework of the body, and being unbelievable teammates.”

Through the fifirst four games of the season, Carter has 14 receptions for 213 total yards and two touchdowns. In Friday’s game alone, Carter caught three passes for 89 total yards and the touchdown. Last year, Carter had a total of 240 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games.

Carter, a junior, is emerging as one of Tech’s key receivers, and both Collins and offffffffffffensive coordinator Dave Patenaude credit the progression to Carter’s dedication and work ethic.

“Malachi works so hard,” Collins said. “If you saw his Catapult numbers in practice, they’re through the roof every single day. He just goes so hard. Thenwhen he gets to the games, that’s just howhe’swired to play that way.”

When Collins took the reins of the programat Tech, he knewhe faced an uphill battle to convert the offffffffffffense froma triple- optionto a pro- style spread offffffffffffense. Part of that uphill battle involved players getting bigger and stronger, and Carter was no exception. While his height and weight on the roster — 6 feet 3 and 200 pounds — haven’t changed since his freshman season, he’s grown stronger within that frame and gottenmore explosive as an athlete.

“His body has just matured,” Patenaude said. “He’s gotten a lot stronger. He’smore explosive. ( Strength- and- conditioningcoach) Lewis Caralla has done a great job with himin the weight room and his running technique and those kinds of things. When you watch him, he’s very explosive.”

In addition to getting stronger, both Collins and Patenaude praised wide receivers coach Kerry Dixon for his work with Carter and the rest of the receiver group. The first year of a new offffffffffffense always comeswitha learning curve, and so far this season, Tech’s offffffffffffense looks much more comfortable and more effifficient than it was last year.

Some of that improvement can be attributed to having reliable receivers such as Carter. So far, Tech’s passing attack is averaging more than 100 more yards per game than it did last season, going from 133.9 passing yards per game in 2019 to 239.3 in 2020. It may be a small sample size of only four games, but averaging more than 100 more passing yards per game is clear evidence of improvement.

“I think ( Carter’s) understanding of how to play receiver at an elite levelhasbeenreally special,” Patenaude said. “Kerry Dixon is an elite wide receiver coach, so under his tutelage ( and) all of that, that whole room has really grown. Malachi’s confifidence is a lot higher. He’s made plays in games against really good players, which I think helps your confifidence.

“He’s playing at a very high level, and if he continues to do that, the sky’s the limit for him. He could be a Sunday player.”

Fifirst HYOSUB SHIN / HYOSUB. SHIN@ AJC. COM Malachi Carter scores against Louisville on Friday night, one of his four catches for 89 yards. Through the four games, he has 14 receptions for 213 yards.