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Redskins UDFA Spotlight: Why RB Martez Carter could be the next Tarik Cohen

By Jacob Camenker

BERKELEY, CA - SEPTEMBER 05: Martez Carter #4 of the Grambling State Tigers runs the ball against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on September 5, 2015 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
BERKELEY, CA - SEPTEMBER 05: Martez Carter #4 of the Grambling State Tigers runs the ball against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on September 5, 2015 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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TUCSON, AZ – SEPTEMBER 10: Wide receiver Martez Carter #4 of the Grambling State Tigers celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Arizona Wildcats in the second quarter at Arizona Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ – SEPTEMBER 10: Wide receiver Martez Carter #4 of the Grambling State Tigers celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Arizona Wildcats in the second quarter at Arizona Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

About Martez Carter

For Martez Carter, getting to the NFL wasn’t easy. He came from a tough upbringing, and much has been made of his journey to get there. In his early years, Carter grew up in Monroe, Louisiana. His father was in prison and his single mother raised Carter and his siblings on her own.

As a senior in high school, Carter was academically ineligible to play. But, he worked hard enough to get his grades back up and get himself into college.

And as Carter told ESPN’s The Undefeated, he wanted to make an impact. And he wanted to overcome the tough upbringing that he had. Here’s what he said in a piece by Maya A. Jones back in November.

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"“I have a 27-year-old brother who is incarcerated,” Carter said. “My mother dropped out of school in 10th grade, my father dropped out in the 10th grade, and I have older brothers who dropped out in the 10th grade. … I didn’t want to be a bad product of my environment. I didn’t want to be a statistic, so I just really put in my mind that if I hadn’t gotten a chance to go to college, I was going to make the best of it.”"

And Carter was able to do that. He ended up going to Grambling after a brief stint at Wiley College where he was going to play basketball. But when Grambling came knocking, he took the opportunity to go an play football, and he began his career as a defensive back.

After a season at DB, Grambling moved Carter to the offensive side of the ball. He became a running back, and that’s when his career really started to take off.

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