A Captains Voice

by Jim Sumner, GoDuke The Magazine

Sports teams have captains. Leaders. Role models. Those captains are almost always seniors, at least upperclassmen. Athletes who have been through the grind and can impart lessons learned to younger players.

So, how did redshirt sophomore defensive tackle DeWayne Carter become one of Duke football's three co-captains, along with senior receiver Jake Bobo and graduate student quarterback Gunnar Holmberg?

According to Carter, it all started with his parents, DeWayne and Kristin Carter, and his grandparents.

"My parents always told me to be myself," Carter said. "Be who you are, don't be scared to be who you are. Never be scared to do the right thing. Don't be scared to be different. It can change your whole mindset as a kid. You're always learning, trying to develop, trying to figure out the whole world. Words of affirmation. If I see nobody stepping up, it's just natural for me to go, 'Alright, this is what we're going to do. Let's plan it out. Let's go ahead.' But I'm also not the kind of leader who says it's my way or no way. Let's work through this together."

Carter's father, grandfather and two uncles played college football. The elder DeWayne was a wide receiver at Ohio State, where he and his future wife met. She was from the greater Columbus area and her parents provided a support system for DeWayne and his younger sister. The Carter family settled in the Columbus suburb of Pickerington.

Young Dewayne was surrounded by football growing up.

"Football was never forced on me," he says. "But when you grow up in a household like that, grow up in a family like that, games are on every Saturday, my dad is always watching some kind of sport, usually football. My dad's friends are his teammates. I've been primed."

Still, he didn't begin playing football until sixth grade. He played soccer early and says he still sees the impact. "We worked on footwork, skills, speed training and I grew into this big body, but I can still move as well as I could when I was running up the field playing midfield on a soccer field."

Another sport competed for his attention. Carter calls baseball his "first love." He played catcher and first base and was a first-team all-district selection at Pickerington Central.

But he was an all-state football player and helped Pickerington to a 14-1 state title as a junior. He received 28 actionable football offers. Ohio State was interested but never offered. Carter narrowed his choices to Duke, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Michigan State and Indiana.

Why Duke?

"I visited Duke the first time in 2017 and fell in love with the campus, the coaches, the people, future teammates, professors. I always knew I was going to end up going here," he recalls.

He continued the recruiting process but says he prioritized academics and valued relationships, making Duke an easy call.

Duke defensive-line coach Ben Albert was another positive. Carter calls Albert a "father figure" in his coaching style.

"From day one, we had a great relationship. We just hit it off. He tells us almost every single day, be who you are, don't be afraid to be who you are. He empowers us, he lifts us up."

Carter still had hopes of combining football and baseball when he arrived at Duke. Coaches David Cutcliffe and Chris Pollard were on board with the idea. But the pandemic hit, Duke's baseball depth chart was solid at first base and Carter gave up baseball in a decision that he says, "pains him still."
Duke didn't' expect to play Carter much, if any, during his true freshman season in 2019. But there was some attrition at the position and Duke decided to see what it had.

"I was at the bottom of depth chart but a couple of guys missed meetings and I went straight into the fire. I really didn't know the playbook. I didn't know anything else. But I showed them that I was going to go there and do my best and they saw they could work with that."

Carter played three games in 2019, enough to get a feel for the fire but not enough to burn his redshirt. He moved into the rotation last year, backing up Ben Frye and Derrick Tangelo.

"He's done everything we've asked him to do," Albert says. "Last year, at the end of the season, I thought he was playing at a high level. It took him some time to adjust but by the end of the season, I thought he was playing well."

Tangelo transferred to Penn State and Frye moved back to his natural position of end after starting ends Chris Rumph and Vic Dimukeje left for the NFL draft.

It was Carter's time.

He had such a good spring that Duke sent him and Holmberg to Charlotte for ACC Media Day. His teammates selected him co-captain in August.

"I've had the pleasure of knowing DeWayne quite a while," says Frye. "He's an Ohio guy like me, same area code. He's always been a leader. Since he got here, he's shown real maturity. He's only grown.
That's why our guys trust him and that's why he's our team captain. He's a physical player and focuses on the things he needs to do every day. He gets it done and he carries guys along with him."

Carter leads a very young position group. How does he describe his leadership style?

"I do whatever is needed. Because obviously everybody reacts differently to different things, responds to different things. Some guys, you get up in their face and they get offended and they take it to heart like me attacking another person. But no, I'm attacking their actions and that's what Coach Albert always says, 'attack the actions.' In terms of my leadership skills, I've done all of the above. I try to practice as hard as I can and that's another emphasis on my game. I try to practice like I'm in the game at all times."

Cutcliffe calls Carter a "stalwart." Duke center Jack Wohlabaugh has to block Carter in practice and notes his many attributes.

"He's a great guy," Wohlabaugh says. "He's a captain, so obviously he's our leader. I think he's come along a lot since he first got here a couple of years ago to now. The progression he's done as been impressive. He's super explosive, has great hands and motor."

The 6-foot-1, 300-pound Carter evaluates his strengths.

"I'm very quick, good punch at the point of attack. Very athletic. Last season really made a difference. I have better conditioning, more strength in terms of using my hands, mentally I understand the plays, understand the schemes. I really worked on my strength, adding tools to my tool box."

Weaknesses?

"I need to be more consistent."

Football isn't the only area in which Carter is making an impact. He's on the executive board of Duke's United Black Athletes, a platform for black student-athletes to pursue social justice issues. He's worked with the ACC on Unity Week and worked with Durham-based Growth NC on a program to donate used Duke athletic gear.

Carter is majoring in psychology, while minoring in education and pursuing a certificate in markets and management.

What happens when he takes off the jersey for the last time?

"I want to be an educator; not sure the grade level. I've developed a passion for learning." He says he's striving to learn more and impart that to others each and every day. His ultimate goal is to start a non-profit boys and girls club to serve under-served communities.

Ben Albert says Carter has "the whole package." He was referring to Carter's burgeoning football skills at the time but the comment could just as easily have referred to a man determined to make a positive impact wherever he goes.

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Players Mentioned

Jake Bobo

DeWayne Carter

Ben Frye

Gunnar Holmberg

Derrick Tangelo

Jack Wohlabaugh

Duke information