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Andre Carter II made a name for himself this season as a sack specialist.
Standing tall at outside linebacker at 6-foot-7, the junior from Missouri City, Texas folded up opposing quarterbacks 14.5 times this season. Only one player in all of FBS — Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. — had more sacks than Carter.
Carter did enough on the football field this season to impress the folks submitting ballots to the Associated Press All-American team. For his stellar play, Carter was named to the AP All-American Third Team.
“We are all incredibly proud of him. Just as he is a difference-maker on the field, Andre also serves as an example as a West Point Cadet off the field,” Army head coach Jeff Monken said in a statement. “He is well deserving of this honor and the Army Football Brotherhood celebrates his recognition as one of college football’s best players.”
Carter is the first Monken-coached player at Army to be named to the AP’s All-American team. He was also the only player from any Service Academy named to the team this season.
In addition to his All-American accolade, Carter was also selected as Pro Football Network’s 2021 All-Independent Defensive Player of the Year.
“It’s a blessing to be recognized,” Carter said in a statement. “My teammates and I have been working hard all season, so it’s really amazing to be able to share in this with them as a reflection of all our hard work throughout this entire season.”
Carter started his junior campaign off with a bang, piling up three sacks against Georgia State. Arguably his best outing of the year though came against rival Air Force, when he tallied eight tackles — two for losses — a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Carter had four tackles against Navy.
I have one take on the Army-Navy game and it’s that Army OLB Andre Carter II will be the highest drafted service academy player since Mike Wahle was a supplemental 2nd-rounder in 1998
— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) December 11, 2021
Carter is only a junior so likely in 2023
ANDRE CARTER HAS TIED THE @ArmyWP_Football RECORD FOR SINGLE SEASON SACKS! pic.twitter.com/kxRXc6FJKR
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) November 20, 2021
With three sacks against UMass on Nov. 20, Carter set single-season sack record at Army.
In all, Carter had 16 tackles-for-loss this season, four forced fumbles, one blocked kick, one interception and two pass breakups in 12 regular season games.
A season ago, Carter made just two starts as a sophomore. Now, he’s not just a key cog in Army’s defense — he’s the top playmaker on it.
The Black Knights will lean on Carter heavily on Dec. 22 against Missouri in the Armed Forces Bowl.