Martels Carter Developing into Two-Way Threat at Kentucky Spring Practice

Martels Carter was one of the highest-ranked recruits in Kentucky’s 2025 class because of his versatility. A four-star talent, the explosive athlete was the sixth-ranked safety in America, but he’s doing much more than that for Kentucky during spring practice.

Kentucky preserved Carter’s redshirt during the 2025 season, tallying four tackles across four games for the Wildcats. Will Stein is preparing Carter to play a much larger role this fall.

“Martels is a good player, and the thing that has been really impressive about Martels, he’s a great teammate,” safeties coach Josh Christian-Young said after Thursday’s spring practice.

“He’s doing a little bit of both for us right now. He’s playing a little bit of offense, a little bit of defense. He’s returning kicks. The good part of Martels is he didn’t really flinch. ‘Alright, Coach. What can I do for Kentucky?'”

Kentucky is asking Carter to split time at safety and running back this spring. The Wildcats are returning Jason Patterson to the running back room and added a pair of transfers. CJ Baxter and Javontae Barnes were productive at their previous stops, but dealt with injuries. It’s unclear what the workload is for the former Longhorn and Sooner this spring, but Carter is lightening that load.

Playing in all three phases of the game is nothing new to Carter. During two seasons at Paducah Tilghman, he did just that for the Blue Tornado. As a junior, he reeled in 43 receptions for 1,066 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns. He also chipped in three rushing touchdowns and six scores on special teams. As a high school senior, he picked off three passes and had nine touchdowns on offense. He capped off his prep career with nine receptions for 169 yards in a 27-20 State Championship victory over Franklin County. Carter earned Class 4A MVP honors following the Blue Tornado’s 15-0 season.

Carter is not the only player in Christian-Young’s meeting room with experience on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

“Jesse Anderson‘s having a really good spring so far. He transferred in from Pitt. Jesse’s played a little bit of receiver and DB in his career. He’s been a really, really welcome addition,” said the Kentucky safeties coach.

It’s unclear exactly where we’ll see Carter line up in the fall or how frequently they’ll test that versatility. One thing is certain, a C4 is taking carries for Kentucky in 2026. Their friends know both Baxter and Carter as C4. There’s a lot of energy in the Kentucky backfield.