Barfknecht: Carter a piece of (art) work

We may run out of newsprint trying to list the things that make Texas Tech offensive lineman Brandon Carter stand out in a crowd.

First is his size. The senior from Longview, Texas, is 6-foot-7 and weighs 354 pounds.

Next are his accomplishments. As a junior, he was a first-team All-American. Now, the player who allowed zero sacks last season at right guard is on the 2009 Outland Trophy watch list as a left tackle.

Then there is his appearance.

Carter has a tattoo that covers the left side of his shaved skull. And another across his back that took eight months to complete. And more on his legs, sides, shoulders, arms and chest — so many that he can't recall the total count or expense.

“Nothing is exempt from being tattooed,'' he said. “My body is a canvas.''

Nothing?

“There's always skin somewhere,'' he said.

Carter used to adorn himself with as many as 26 body piercings, too. But football and hunks of metal jabbed into the skin don't mix.

“I had three in my lip,'' he said. “But in a game against Texas A&M, my helmet got ripped off and they came out with it.''

By now, if you've labeled Carter as some sort of meathead simply craving attention, I can understand.

But you're wrong. Keep reading to find out why.

Last year, while picking classes, Carter decided to take German. But the introductory German class didn't fit his schedule. So he signed up for German II.

“The first day I walk into class and the teacher said something to me in German and just stares at me waiting for a response,'' Carter said. “I said something back in English.

“He said, ‘You can't talk in English in here.' So I said, ‘Then we've got a problem.'”

Not for long. Carter, an exercise sport science major, threw himself into the challenge hard enough to pass easily.

That mentality from one of the team leaders is what gives Tech coach Mike Leach hope that his offense, which suffered major losses to graduation and the NFL, can be rebuilt.

“Brandon kind of looks like a curveball,'' Leach said, “but he comes at you like a fastball down the middle.

“He's one of those guys who wishes we were playing a doubleheader. And you're talking about a gigantic person ambling around diving at stuff, hitting stuff, wrecking stuff, and then looks up at the clock and is upset that it's over.”

Everyone on the Tech offense needs to adopt that passion.

Gone from the unit that helped the Red Raiders post a school-best 11-2 record in 2008 are quarterback Graham Harrell, the No. 2 all-time NCAA passing leader, and the top three scorers from last season, including wide receiver Michael Crabtree and his 97 catches and 19 touchdowns.

The left side of the offensive line also was wiped out by graduation. But Carter isn't pulling any alarms.

“Texas Tech rarely gets much respect,'' he said. “But we have great players waiting to fill in.”

Tech fans are hoping one of those is new No. 1 quarterback Taylor Potts, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound junior from Abilene, Texas.

Carter eschewed political correctness in discussing his first impressions of Potts.

“I was worried about him in the earlier months of the year,'' Carter said. “He was a little nervous. But over the past few months, it seems like he's been here five years.''

Ugly losses to Oklahoma (65-21) and then Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl (47-34), plus Leach's flirtations with other jobs before his contract squabble at Tech have led to questions about whether the Red Raiders are facing a down year.

“We went downhill at the end last year,'' Carter said. “And the leadership went downhill. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again.''

That's a bold promise of keeping order from a guy whose first tattoo was the word “Chaos.''

Then again, let's see how long the line of players is who wants to challenge him.

Contact the writer:

444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com

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