Alabama Football: The anchor of the Crimson Tide secondary

Alabama football is loaded with talent but talent alone is not enough. Teams need leaders and sometimes the glue holding players together is a quiet voice.

Alabama football senior, Shyheim Carter is not often mentioned in lists of players key to 2019 success. He should be. He is in fact, one of the most valuable players on a defensive team that must improve to challenge for more championships.

Shyheim is from the small town of Kentwood, LA, about 75 miles from New Orleans. He was a star quarterback and defensive back at his small high school. He was known as ‘Nuck-Nuck’ until the unofficial Mayor of nearby Amite, LA, Vincent Sanders suggested it be shortened to Nook.

Alabama football fans know about Sanders. He helped steer Devonta Smith to Tuscaloosa. The same for Ishmael Sopsher. He has been a father-figure and advisor to many high school players in the area.

Shyheim’s high school coach, Jonathan Foster describes Carter as,

"He’s an unassuming kid, humble, and he doesn’t have to be the life of the party"

What Shyheim does best is listen and learn. He has learned well in Tuscaloosa. Teammates have said Shyheim is the player who most thinks like Nick Saban. He has also been compared to Minkah Fitzpatrick, and not just because he can play multiple positions, but as a student of the game. Shyheim explains the reason for focusing his football attention.

"I take pride in knowing every position, even what the D-line and the linebackers do. I take that very personally because if someone doesn’t know what (to do), then I can always adjust them and put them in the position they need to be in. I like trying to be the quarterback of the defense."

Xavier McKinney is the defender most often described as the ‘quarterback of the defense.’ McKinney knows and reads the game well and he is visibly a headhunter. Carter and McKinney make a strong pair. Wherever Shyheim plays in 2019 and however well his other teammates perform, he will be making them better. That is what he does and it comes naturally to him.

Shyheim and family members work together off the football field to care and nurture some young lives. Shyheim became a father in high school. He is dedicated to his two children who are cared for by his family. Shyheim sees them as frequently as possible.

Shyheim has accepted the challenge of providing for his children the best he now can and fully after finishing college. He has played through injuries in his Crimson Tide career and pressed on. The role he has defined for himself is to listen, learn and helps others. And he is a darned good football player as well.

Shyheim has played in 37 games in his Crimson Tide career. Other than the two ‘pick-six’ interception touchdowns, his stats are not especially impressive. He has 33 solo tackles, 13 passes defended and one forced fumble. Though he has played since he was a freshman, most of the stats cited above come from his 2018, junior campaign.