This article, written by John Frierson, appeared on GeorgiaDogs.com. Reggie Carter is senior on the UGA Football team.
Georgia senior linebacker Reggie Carter isn’t going to talk your ear off, typically. Notlike a Lorenzo Carter or Jeb Blazevich. But if you get him one on one and ask him a bunch of silly questions, the Snellville, Ga., native proved he can be pretty chatty.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Carter has already earned a degree in economics, and he showed off a big smile while talking about it. During our quick chat last week he talked about school, internships, being a picky eater and much more.
Here’s some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What’s the best or most interesting part of your summer?
Carter: (Smiles) This summer I graduated, thank God. I actually graduated with a degree in Econ and boy was that hard. But yeah, graduating was the most exciting part of the summer. And then after graduation I took a trip to Myrtle Beach, which was fun.
Frierson: What draws you to study economics? I think I could enjoy a class or two, but I know I couldn’t major it it.
Carter: It kind of found me, honestly. I was an undecided for so long and I knew I wanted to do something in business. It was hard — it being hard excited me, using a certain part of the brain and thinking a certain type of way I haven’t really looked at before.
Frierson: I know you’ve also done some interning around here, through The Georgia Way’s career development program. What all did you do?
Carter: I did that the past two summers, actually. The first year I interned in the (Human Resources) department — that was pretty fun with Mrs. Peggy (Whitfield), Maci (Fouche) and Amy (Bales). I love those ladies.
This past summer I interned for a couple of weeks with Mr. Melvin Robinson, Assistant AD for Facilities. That was pretty interesting because we hosted the NCAAs (men’s and women’s tennis championships), so I was over there doing a lot of stuff — a lot of squeegeeing after it rained.
Frierson: Where is all this taking you, do you think?
Carter: I always wanted to coach, but since I’ve been here I’ve fallen in love with the other side of athletics, the administrative side, so hopefully after football there could be a potential (graduate assistant) position around here where I could work my way through the ropes and learn.
Frierson: Would you like to be an AD somewhere one day?
Carter: Possibly. I would love to.
Frierson: Where would you go if you were given all the time and money you needed to travel anywhere in the world?
Carter: That’s hard. I want to go everywhere once I retire, I want to just travel. If I had to go anywhere? I think Amsterdam, London, Paris, all those places over in Europe. They all have amazing sights and history, and it all looks very different from what we see around here.
Frierson: Looking back on what you’ve learned since you got here, what advice would you give the 18-year-old version of yourself that was just showing up here your freshman year?
Carter: Keep the main thing the main thing, because there are a lot of things outside of football that can easily get you distracted, as far as parties and all that stuff. I’ve done a great job of that, but when you’re young … just keep the main thing the main thing.
Frierson: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Carter: People know me, I’m very picky about what I eat. I don’t eat nothing that doesn’t look right. I’m a very basic person — if it doesn’t look good, I’m not eating it.
Frierson: If you could play any other sport for Georgia, what would it be?
Carter: Growing up it was only football — couldn’t play basketball or anything — but I always wanted to swim. I mean, I can swim, but seeing them, it just seems fun, being in the water.
Frierson: What’s the best live performance or event you’ve ever seen?
Carter: I’ve never been to a concert, first of all, never.
Frierson: Wow. Not even anything on campus?
Carter: I’ve never been to a concert. … How do you come up with these questions?
Frierson: I don’t know, I’ve been interviewing people for 20 years and I’ve found that it’s the answers to random questions that interest me the most.
Carter: I don’t know, I can’t answer that one.
Frierson: Fair enough. Is there a game that stands out to you from your career?
Carter: That would be 2014 against Clemson (a 45-41 Bulldog win). That game was crazy; that was an amazing game and an amazing experience that I happened to be a part of (four tackles).
I could watch that game all day. I’ll be in my room sometimes and just flick that on TV.
Frierson: How much football do you watch? You’re surrounded by it for hours each day, so do you try to get away from it whenever you can or can you not get enough of it?
Carter: People would think you want to get away from it, but I’m a football fanatic. I watch football all the time; I watch other teams play all the time, watch football on Sunday — I love the sport and love being around the sport.
