In the fall of 2018, Jay Sherritt noticed the stands at home games were getting a little more crowded. Recently retired, Sherritt was at the time coach of the Pickerington Central football team near Columbus, Ohio.
The school of about 1,800 students always saw a strong turnout for football games. But there was something special about this season – or someone. Students who usually skipped the Friday night festivities were now part of a swelling crowd.
They were there to see DeWayne Carter.
“Some of those kids that came to the games, they’d never been to a football game their whole life,” Sherritt said. “And DeWayne would kind of bring them into it. And next thing you know, we got an extra 50 or 60 people in a student section, and he is a direct reason for that.”
Gravitational pull
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Now make no mistake, Carter’s performance on the field was reason enough for kids to show up. In his senior year, he was named the All-Metro Team Defensive Player of Year by the Columbus Dispatch. He and his teammates were coming off a season where they won a state championship.
The defensive tackle would go on to play at Duke, where he was a three-time captain, and then drafted by the Bills in the third round last spring.
Carter, 23, got his first start with the Bills last week against the Houston Texans. He needed just one play to make an impact. On the Texans’ first play from scrimmage, Carter tallied a 2-yard tackle for loss in his first start.
“The first diagnosis of the screen in the first series of the game was big for us, getting him off to a good start,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said Monday. “And I thought (Carter) did some really good things out there. … Every week is he continues to grow and develop for us.”
But back in high school, it wasn’t just his athletic skills that were the draw. A friend to everyone and the homecoming king, Carter’s magnetic personality pulled the student body closer.
His mom, Kristin, watched as Carter filled his schedule with extracurriculars.
“He would go to robotics tournaments as well as whatever football games, basketball games – it didn’t matter. He was just always involved in everything, and always cheering people on and wanting to see everyone do well,” Kristin said.
“I think that’s why, people – a lot of people – tend to kind of float to him and gravitate to him.”
And it wasn’t just Carter going to support others. Often, he was part of the fun.
“DeWayne was part of choir, DeWayne was part of the play, DeWayne was part of student council,” Pickerington Central coach Jeff Lomonico said. “And that … it changes everybody’s opinion.”
High school can be hard and stereotypes can be rigid. Carter was there to break down barriers. Sure of himself and eager to get involved, Carter dove into everything. His participation changed views.
“Some people have different feelings about people that sing or people that are in choir, people that are in plays, people that are in the band. And when you have people like (Carter), I mean, our school culture was amazing,” Lomonico said.
“Football games are always pretty packed, but you know, during that time period, it was really packed. And the climates in the schools were great because the football team was friends with everybody. …
“Having people like DeWayne got rid of most of the cliques in our school.”
‘Tremendous aura’
Carter’s charisma continued at Duke. He majored in psychology, and he double-minored in education and theater. He would have majored in education if the school had a full program, he said, and he wants to work in that realm whenever he’s finished with football.
The theater minor came about since he took so many electives in his final semester. Carter stayed at Duke to graduate that spring, and he had a few options to fill out his last round of classes. He thought about graduating early or getting a business degree, but the stage was still calling.
“I decided to go the minor route, and theater was something I’ve always been interested in,” Carter said.
His classes included costume design, dialogue classes and Roman theater. The first day when he walked in, his professor asked if the 6-foot-2, 302-pound Carter was in the right place.
But while throwing himself into outside interests, Carter still excelled on the field.
His teammates took notice and reacted accordingly: Carter was the first player in school history to be a three-time captain, as voted on by his teammates.
Now the assistant head coach/special teams coordinator/defensive line coach at Massachusetts, Ben Albert was previously the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Duke, where he worked with Carter. Albert, who has coached at seven colleges and the NFL, saw Carter’s unique and prestigious nod extend far beyond Duke.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it,” Albert said.
Carter established himself as a leader early, but 2020 tested him. He had started taking more education classes, and in those he learned more about U.S. history, and Black history in particular.
In the wake of the death of George Floyd and protests around the country, Duke followed suit. Carter was part of a group in 2020 that marched to the Duke University Chapel.
“When we got there, it was kind of like a ‘What’s next?’ type of thing,” Carter said. “Guys (looking) around, like older guys, and nobody’s really stepping up to say anything.”
Carter grew uncomfortable waiting.
“I kind of stepped up, kind of spoke from my heart, what was on my mind,” Carter said. “And from then, I kind of took that leadership point. And that wasn’t just football.”
Albert, a mentor, watched as Carter got involved around campus. Carter eventually joined the executive board of Duke’s United Black Athletes, continuing his push for social justice.
“For a young person to be able to do what he was able to do – in the locker room, take care of himself, academically, socially, continue to remain responsible – while all of those different things were going on in the background, I was able to look at him and see in him someone that, regardless of the circumstances, he’s going to be able to find success in whatever he endeavors,” Albert said.
Albert compares Carter’s welcoming nature to a great host at a house party – an event where people from all walks of life are invited.
“Everybody should be comfortable, and that’s what his persona, his personality – he exudes that kind of aura,” Albert said. “He has a tremendous aura about himself.”
And at the center of it all is Carter.
“To be able to be able to navigate waters where you can continue to be yourself and not be fake, and continue to attract people and still be you, that’s an example of a great human,” Albert said.
“That’s what DeWayne has done. That’s what he will continue to do,” Albert added. “There’s no doubt in my mind that he will find a way to have success.”
‘My soul can be bright’
So much of Carter’s personality comes from his family. His dad, DeWayne Carter Sr., starred for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the early 1990s. His dad’s side of the family in general is smattered with former athletes.
Carter’s mom thinks some of his musical talents come from her side, pointing to his uncle who is a musician. DeWayne has an ear for music himself.
“When he was younger, he played the drums,” Kristin said. “He had missed either a basketball or a baseball game because he had a concert. And that was the end of his percussion.”
But in their tough-love-filled Ohio home, Carter also learned how much he wanted to win.
“He is a competitor,” Kristin said. “It does not matter if we are playing Pixy Stix, Uno – it doesn’t matter, if it’s a pickup game of basketball in the driveway or out there on the field.”
Carter doesn’t want to lose. At home, he’ll have to see the raucous celebrations of someone else if he fails.
“You should see our family games,” Kristin said. “When we play family games around here, it’s ridiculous. Everyone has their own theme music and stuff. So, when we win a game of cards or something, we get to play our game music.”
That competitive nature is critical now. Carter’s kindhearted personality can at times be in opposition to the position he plays: defensive tackle. He had to flip a switch, and he certainly does.
“He has the ability to be an aggressive defensive lineman and do all the things and put himself in a mentality where he can be in that state,” Albert said. “And at the same time, he has the ability to compartmentalize: When I’m off the football field, I can be loving, I can smile. I don’t have to have a heinous overtone to my being. My soul can be bright, and I can have people gravitate towards me, because of my magnetic personality.”
It’s not unusual for players, but the contrast for Carter is more pronounced.
“I tell everybody: me right now and me on the field is two different people,” Carter said. “I don’t want to call it an alter ego, but that’s just how it’s always been.”
He thinks it stems first from his family, and then from his duties as a defensive lineman.
“We set the tone for games,” Carter said. “We set the tone for how practices go. Because if you’re not winning up front, really, nobody else can do their job. So that’s most important for us. You know, we have a lot of fun. We joke around – life at a party or whatever. But at the end of the day, it’s our job to set the tone.”
And who better to set the tone than a former theater kid?
Eventually, that will be more of Carter’s responsibility. But right now, he knows part of his role is to soak in all he can from the veterans around him.
“He’s done nothing but grow since he’s been here,” defensive end A.J. Epenesa said. “He’s our rook this year. … He takes pride in his brains and his knowledge of the game, and so he’s very knowledgeable and does what he’s supposed to do all of the time. And just watching him grow, watching his personality grow, it’s fun to see him put his personality out there.”
It’s still early in the season, but other teammates are catching on, too.
“You could tell he was really bright, played hard, wanted to do all the right things,” linebacker Terrel Bernard said. “And so, to see him have success early already is awesome. He’s a guy that we’re counting on and leaning on a ton right now. And he’s done a great job.”
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