There's a Challenging, but Feasible Path to Playing Time for Martels Carter

It was an offseason of change for the Kentucky football roster. The Wildcats are welcoming 50 new players to the roster, but how many of them will see the field this fall?

Of the 50 newcomers, 26 are from the transfer portal. Many of those guys will be starters when the season opens against Toledo. It’s a much different story for those who were playing high school football a year ago.

When scouring through the 2025 Kentucky football recruiting class, you can see how prospects can develop into starting roles in the future. Finding immediate impact players is much more challenging.

On offense, DJ Miller brings exceptional positional size and athleticism to the wide receiver room. After getting a head start in the spring, there’s a chance he makes a splash or two in 2025. Another player who was at spring practice could be in the secondary rotation this fall, Martels Carter.

One of the highest-ranked players in the Wildcats’ 2025 recruiting class, Carter was a two-way star for Paducah Tilghman, who helped the Blue Tornado capture a state title. He has the tools to see the field as a true freshman.

“C4 has done a great job for us. I love his energy. I love his enthusiasm as a youngster,” Chris Collins said on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk.

Carter’s teammates have seen his potential in practice, but stepping seamlessly into SEC football isn’t for the faint of heart.

“For a true freshman coming from high school, that’s a challenge. The mental grind, the physical grind, the competitive grind, not only from game to game, but from practice to practice. A lot of things go into playing as a true freshman.

“C4 has done a great job. I am excited about his future. He has a phenomenal family structure that’s going to help him. He’s gonna be able to lean on them throughout his freshman season because it is going to be hard. Freshman year is tough,” said Collins.

Ty Bryant and Jordan Lovett are returning starters at the safety position. Cam Dooley is expected to rotate in regularly during his second season at Kentucky. You cannot play SEC football with just three safeties. If Carter can learn the playbook and overcome early huddles, he’ll force his coaches to play him. I expect you’ll see No. 4 on the field for Kentucky in 2025.

“I’m excited about where he is. He’s got a tremendous future for us as a Wildcat, but it’s about him learning, just like everybody else, on how to stay true to the process, and that process is daunting, it is hard, it’s uncomfortable. But if you can stay true to it, good things can happen,” said Collins.

“He’s been able to do that and I am looking forward to seeing him grow throughout this freshman season where the ups and the downs are gonna come.”