Liberty LB Joe Carter suffered an injury in the Flames’ win over New Mexico State on Oct. 14. On Tuesday, head coach Jamey Chadwell confirmed that Carter will miss the rest of the season.
“Joe was obviously a good player for us,” said Chadwell. “A leader. He’s hard to replace, not one guy is going to be able to replace Joe.”
Through the first seven games of the season, Carter was leading the Flames in tackles with 53 and was tied for the team lead with 3.5 tackles for loss. Carter also led the team last year with a career-high 88 tackles, playing in all 12 games and making 11 starts. He was a CUSA second-team selection and named to the VaSID All-State First-Team following the 2024 campaign.
Carter began his career at Liberty as a walk-on in 2021. He didn’t see the field his first season on the team and didn’t get any action until the 2022 Boca Raton Bowl against Toledo. In 2023, he developed into a solid player for the Flames at linebacker, starting the last nine games of the season and finishing third on the team with 59 tackles.
“From a human spirit deal, you’re disappointed for him,” said Chadwell. “When we got here, he was a walk-on, earned an opportunity, earned a scholarship. Last two years, he’s been a starter for us, played well, been a good leader for us in the locker room, really cares about Liberty. You’re really disappointed for him not being able to finish his career out, but also, he’s had a great attitude with it. I think the guys in the locker room that have been here with him a long time, they want to go play well for him to help honor him.”
“Where Joe was so good was helping everybody get lined up,” said Chadwell. “He was our green dot, so we’re telling him all this. Now, you have to have a new guy doing that, that’s going to be a challenging thing. The benefit of having the extra time (off) is you’ve been working those things to put those guys in situations. You will see, probably, more guys play a little bit that have maybe not played at linebacker as much, maybe. We will play some guys if they continue to practice well maybe will get some snaps there. It’s tough losing him specifically, but you’ve got confidence in the guys behind him. They’ve got to go perform, but it’s a big loss.”
Aidan Vaughn will likely step into a much larger role, beginning with being the “green dot” guy, the person who wears the in-helmet communication with the coaching staff. Duece Spurlock will also have an opportunity for that role, as well. Another name to keep an eye on is redshirt-freshman Dillano Glaud.
“I think a young guy that will eventually, maybe it’s this week, he will get on the field with Joe being down is Dillano Glad,” said Chadwell. “Dillano is really improving a lot. He’s been behind some good players. The thing I will give him credit for is he comes every day with an attitude to get better. He’s up in the building all the time trying to learn and understand it. He’s put himself in a position where I can see him earning some reps at some point over the next five games because he’s done a good job. He’s built trust. He’s continued to work. I like the improvement that he’s made. He’s been playing some special teams but not playing any at linebacker. With Joe being out, there’s going to be an opportunity, potentially, where he might have to play some there.”
