Ruben Carter (Offensive Line, Miami Jackson HS) Commits To Florida State

This was expected for a long while, but over the weekend Ruben Carter, an offensive lineman from Miami Jackson High School committed to Florida State.  Carter fell in love with FSU over the summer, but waited to commit until his mother could accompany him on a visit to Tallahassee.  Ms. Carter made the trip this weekend and with her approval, Ruben decided to become a Seminole.

As you can see from the picture, Carter is physically impressive and is continuing to grow.  He checks in at 6'4" 285 and easily projects in the 300-310 pound range in 2013 after a red-shirt year and a learning year.  

Carter is pretty raw in terms of technique and there isn't very much tape of him playing offensive line floating around.  He played mostly defensive line last year, but he has continued to grow.  He impressed Florida State offensive line coach Rick Trickett at a camp.  Those in South Florida feel that Miami is really going to regret not bringing in Carter as he is very athletic for a kid of his size.  Carter has long arms and a powerful punch, but needs a lot of work on technique, as one would expect from a kid still growing into his body and adjusting to a new position.  Coach Trickett does an excellent job of teaching technique and Carter is a kid who will benefit from being able to learn and develop for two years before being counted on to play meaningful snaps.  It is unknown which offensive line position Carter will play and will probably depend on whether he is a true 6'4" and whether he continues to grow.  He currently plays center, guard, and defensive tackle for Jackson.

Carter's agility probably comes from his father, who played collegiate hoops.  "He recorded a 4.94 pro agility shuttle, 8.09 L-cone time and 29-inch vertical and bench-pressed 185-pounds 16 times, which is impressive considering his long arms."  That's impressive considering it happened when he was about 15 lbs lighter than he is today.  

Carter is a three-star prospect on both ESPN and Rivals and is a kid who could move up depending on which evaluators see him. 

Florida State now has 17 commitments and Rivals' updated rankings call FSU's class the third best in the country, behind only Texas and Alabama.