Big Jah hopes to put Big Hurtin’ on Stanford

By Jerry Ratcliffe

They call him “Big Jah,” which sounds like something out of one of those outer space movies. Just like a sci-fi character, big Jahmeer Carter can be your worst nightmare if you’re an opposing offensive lineman.

Carter, who comes in at 6-foot-2, 311 pounds, hails from Baltimore and is in his sixth season as a Virginia defensive tackle, which says a lot in these days of jumping from school to school. Carter has stayed home, and the Cavaliers’ coaching staff is forever thankful.

Big Jah is an inspiration to his teammates. As defensive coordinator John Rudzinski said a couple of days ago, Carter is the first guy in the building and the last one to leave. He’s always working, always looking to improve.

Those traits didn’t go unnoticed when Stanford coach Frank Reich, a man with a considerable NFL background, scouted Virginia on video this week for this Saturday’s game at Scott Stadium (7:30 p.m., ACC Network). Reich pointed out that in his opinion, Carter was UVA’s best defensive lineman.

Informed of Reich’s comments, Big Jah took it in stride.

“I’m appreciative of all the compliments, but you know, I’m someone that likes to prove it week in and week out,” Carter said. “Words are nice, but if I can’t show that every week it doesn’t really mean anything.”

Thus far, Carter is on target from his nose tackle spot, where he is double-teamed about 90 percent of the time. While that might seem frustrating to most, he knows it’s part of the job and a compliment in that it takes two O-linemen to handle a whopper.

“For me, it’s not frustrating because I understand that if I’m being double-teamed, then someone else has an opportunity … Kam Robinson and all our linebackers can fly around and make a tackle,” Carter said.

He’s one of the main reasons Virginia is so tough to run against, which will be a key element of Saturday night’s game as Carter & Co. will be facing Stanford’s powerful running back Micah Ford, who ran all over Boston College last weekend en route to being honored as the ACC Back of the Week.

“[Ford] is a dynamic player,” Carter said. “He’s a bigger guy (6-foot, 220 pounds), so tackling is going to be big for us. He can run through arm tackles. He’s already put that on tape, so it’s going to be a challenge for us.”

In three games, Ford has posted a total of 291 yards rushing and a 5.3 yards-per-carry average to go with two touchdowns.

“Stanford is a physical group up front and they have a lot of speed across the board, so it’s going to be a challenge,” Carter said.

He believes Virginia’s run defense has improved since the close loss at NC State, a game in which he made six tackles, and that’s a lot for a nose tackle. The Cavaliers are going to have to be stout against The Cardinal ground game.

Because of the depth UVA added through the transfer portal, there is more rotation than ever on the defensive line, meaning fewer snaps for Carter, which keeps him more fresh.

“Not only me, but it helps everyone stay fresher,” Big Jah said. “I think I only had maybe 10 snaps last game, but when I’m in there, I feel fresh. I’m able to go as fast as I can.”

That’s a bonus for a guy who had accumulated 2,805 snaps in his career heading into this season, a ton of experience for Carter, who will be starting his 39th consecutive game on Saturday.

While he could rest on those laurels, that’s not his style.

“If you come out and watch Jahmeer at practice, even in our walkthrough tempo when it’s truly a walkthrough he has bands on his hands to work on keeping his hands tight,” Tony Elliott said. “His pad level is very low. He’s intentional with his hand placement, so he’s constantly working, which has allowed him to continue to improve.

“He’s a guy that’s going to constantly push for that ceiling. He’s going to get every inch and every ounce out of his ability as he can.”

Elliott said that Carter’s improvement isn’t only based on technique, but off the practice field as well, including the dinner table. The coach said his big tackle took a diet very seriously in the offseason, transformed his body.

Combine that with fewer snaps and we’re talking about a big tackle who can stay fresh through the fourth quarter, not having to worry about 65 or 70 snaps, allowing him to play at a different speed for 25-30 snaps.

“There’s nobody in our program that works harder than Big Jah,” Elliott said. “He’s the ultimate pro.”

In fact, while discussing the big tackle during Tuesday’s press conference, Elliott said that he betted that Carter was already in the building at 11:30 a.m. even though practice wasn’t until 4 p.m.

“He’s probably in the weight room doing all kinds of stuff just to keep his body in the best condition, then he’ll be up here watching film on special teams and their offense,” the coach said.

Sure enough, Carter was in the building, doing Big Jah things.

Coach Rud said that Carter gets better each day because of his dedication to work habits.

“He also has an ability to understand defensive schematics, plus has play-making ability,” Rud said. “He has to play a really physical game this week against an offensive line that wants to just go tee off on him.”

Easier said than done, especially now that he’s fresher throughout four quarters.

“I don’t feel as sore as I used to week in and week out, just because the accumulation of plays aren’t as high anymore as in previous years,” Carter said. “I think when I’m on the field now, I don’t have to pace myself. I just leave it all out there.”

Big Jah has spoken.