The productive and lengthy career of Georgia Tech wide receiver Malachi Carter stands ready to be distinguished in an appropriate manner. When Carter lines up for his first snap Saturday at Virginia Tech, he’ll have officially appeared in his 55th game with the Yellow Jackets.
That will make him the record holder for most games played in a Tech career, breaking a tie with four other former Yellow Jackets. It is in part a function of Carter having been granted a fifth season of eligibility because of COVID-19. In his first four seasons, Carter had played in 47 career games (appearing in all of the team’s games) and his career would normally have been completed there.
But it’s also a testament to talent and dedication that earned and maintained a spot on the field and the toughness to play through bumps and bruises (and some luck to avoid serious injury). To Carter, it also is the mark of being a good teammate, a lesson that Carter said was imparted to him by family growing up – to be there for others.
“Regardless of how you feel about it, regardless of what’s going on,” Carter said. “So I just kind of take that mindset into football. I could be banged up, I could be sick, whatever it is. But if my guys need me on the field, if I’m healthy enough to go out there and play – if I can play, I’m going to play. That’s just what it is. I just feel like I have that obligation as a football player – the amount of work I’ve put in, the trust that I’ve built from the other players, the respect that I gained from the other players – I just want to show that every day. I guess five straight years, I kind of stayed true to that.”
On the field, Carter’s most visible contributions have been acrobatic and clutch receptions that he’s made over his five seasons. He has made 90 in all, good for 1,295 yards and nine touchdowns. He is four yards away from catching former Tech receiver Gary Lee (the father of Tech freshman safety Clayton Powell-Lee) for 15th place in all-time receiving yardage.
Perhaps the most memorable catch of his career was against North Carolina in 2021, when he turned in the air back to the ball to win a 50/50 ball for a 27-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Sims in the Jackets’ win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It was an act of graceful motion, body control and superior hand-eye coordination, qualities that have surfaced in many of his receptions.
But highlight catches have hardly been the sum of his contributions. Carter’s game as a receiver isn’t only winning balls in the air, but also not going down without a fight after the catch.
Befitting a player recruited to play receiver for former coach Paul Johnson, Carter is also a willing and effective perimeter blocker. On what may have been the most meaningful play of the season – running back Hassan Hall’s 13-yard run against Pittsburgh in which seven Jackets players got behind Hall and pushed him to a first down, Carter was not among the seven. But that’s because he was on the other side of the field and was sprinting over to Hall’s aid as the whistle blew.
When quarterback Zach Pyron found receiver E.J. Jenkins for a 32-yard touchdown pass against Florida State on Saturday, Carter had a hand, running a rub route to enable Jenkins to break away from coverage.
“He’s going to come to work every day,” Tech linebacker Charlie Thomas said of Carter. “He’s not a pushover. He’s not going to let anybody just walk over him. So that’s good for competition. When we’re out here going against each other, he makes the corner better. And then he’s just a cool guy. He’s funny. He’s one of the guys. He’s one of us, for sure.”
Barring unforeseen circumstances, he’ll move ahead of four former Jackets who have held the career record at 54 games. Three played between 2009 and 2013 (safety Jemea Thomas, defensive tackle T.J. Barnes and cornerback Rod Sweeting), reaching 54 by playing in every regular-season game in their careers, four bowl games and two ACC title games. Safety Jamal Golden, who played 2011-15, appeared in 54 games by receiving an extra season of eligibility because of a medical hardship waiver.
Carter had played in 52 consecutive games – all of Tech’s games since the start of the 2018 season – before an injury kept him out of the Duke game Oct. 8. Carter was not able to attend the game and, thanks to the limited distribution of Bally Sports South, couldn’t even watch it on television at home.
“I’m just on ESPN refreshing,” Carter said. “I’m sure you all know that last five minutes had me about to have a heart attack.”
Befitting his character, Carter’s primary motivation for Saturday has little to do with getting his name in the Tech record books. It is an accomplishment, he acknowledged. “Cool” was the word he used.
“But if we win, that’ll be a way better situation,” he said. “That’s the ultimate goal.”
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