Davion Carter cut his teeth for two years at the JUCO level before earning a spot in Division I football. Under-recruited coming out of high school, he excelled at Northwest Mississippi Community College before earning key spots with Memphis, and eventually, Texas Tech.
Carter was a top performer in each of his two seasons at Texas Tech, finishing with PFSN OL Impact Scores of 83.7 and 81.1 in 2024 and 2025, respectively. In his four years at the D1 level, he allowed just three total sacks and was called for only 6 penalties. He was the definition of consistency everywhere he went.
Leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft, PFSN spoke exclusively with Carter about his journey from the JUCO ranks to the College Football Playoff, the advantages of being an undersized guard, his battles in practice with future NFLers Lee Hunter and Skyler-Gill Howard, and more.
You’ve had an impressive collegiate career, starting at the JUCO level, then working your way to Memphis, and then Texas Tech. Can you share some of the hurdles you faced along the way and how you managed to climb the ranks as you did?
Davion Carter: It started in high school. I was a defensive lineman, a defensive end, and my offensive line coach, he told me, if I wanted to make it the D1 level, I need to learn how to snap a football. I’m like, ‘come on, man, nobody wants to play o-line’ (laughs). Then, what ends up happening, I go to center, we end up winning our first state championship in school history, and I kind of just stuck around. I was the biggest kid in my school in Mississippi, so, like, I played tackle.
Then at the collegiate level, in JUCO, I was always shorter [than everyone else]. I didn’t realize how short I was until I got to college. I was like, ‘oh, there’s levels to this’. Of course, I realized that I wasn’t gonna get any taller, so I had to become a technician with the tools I had. I made myself as strong as possible and tried to be the smartest player on the field at all times. I feel like that always gave me an edge, because a lot of guys did have a natural talent, but they didn’t know what to do with it. I feel like that’s how a lot of guys are, so I just honed in on my technique.
Since you’re a bit shorter for an offensive lineman, I want to focus on the positives. What are some positives that you believe your frame gives you on the field?
DC: Oh, absolutely. I actually think, if I was going to build an offensive line, I will make them a little bit on the shorter side, because I like the leverage advantage. In the run game, you definitely feel it on double teams, because most of the time, the guard’s the first one making contact on all the double team blocks, whether it’s with the center or the tackle. Having good leverage [helps with] being able to stand those big guys up and let your tackles wash them out on the center.
Quickness, if you’re building a sports car, they’re gonna be low to the ground, like a Bugatti. It’s gonna be small, it’s aerodynamic. [Being shorter helps with] quickness, being light on my feet. My hand placement and IQ, I feel like that’s going to be my biggest strength, and being a technician, like I said, just playing sound football, understanding what blitzes are coming, understanding our scheme, and what we want to do on offense.
It feels like Texas Tech is now a bona fide college football powerhouse, but that wasn’t always the case. How does it feel to have been a key part of building that program up to where it is today?
DC: It makes me feel good, but it also makes me put in perspective. All the guys before me, man, they’re probably even more proud. They’ve been waiting [for Texas Tech to be good for] years. It was just cool, having fans and alumni come back and see them excited and how much their lives were built around us just playing football on Saturdays. It means a lot to me, and it means a lot to the guys I was with. We were able to come together and do something that had never been done at Tech, and hopefully for the next couple of years, they can stay in it.
Texas Tech has several defensive linemen going into the draft. With you specifically along the interior, what were practice battles like going against Lee Hunter and Skyler Gill-Howard?
DC: Man, I tell you, we got so much better in the trenches from the spring to fall, us going against each other and sharpening each other. You get so many different rushes. You got Lee, who’s just a big, powerhouse, old-school d-tackle. He can hit you with power, and he’s quick to be that big. Skyler, he’s more undersized, but he got that Reggie White hump move. He’s just twitched up and could win with speed right away.
Then, A.J. Holmes, too. AJ Holmes was in there. He was he could go speed and power. All them boys are real good. It was good competition. Then, [Romello Height], and of course, David Bailey, my boy Charles Esters, Terrell Timon, just a bunch of guys. We had some good showings in practice, man. It was like a war every day.
How’s your pre-draft process been?
DC: It’s been going good. I tweaked my leg on my pro day, and I wasn’t in a good headspace for a second, but I’m feeling good about it [now]. The results came back; everything’s good, so I’ll be ready to go. I’m just gotta trust God. But I’ve been hearing from some teams, and I’m just staying positive.
How have your meetings with teams been going?
DC: They’ve been going good. I’m getting anxious. I’m an anxious guy, man. They ask you for your draft phone number, and you’re like, ‘man, they’re gonna draft me. Does this mean they’re gonna draft me?’ You’re just left hanging in so many conversations [until the draft comes]. Man, I’ve just been anxious. I’m ready to see what happens. I’m ready to see where I’m going.
How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
DC: I’m a big video gamer. First off, I know it’s gonna sound corny, and I’ve heard a lot of people say this, but I watch film. I still watch the [college] film. They just took me off the Catapult [access] from last year; I guess my subscription ran out with the team, but I was watching their spring practices. I just like doing it, and just understand that, especially the front seven. I don’t watch nothing on the perimeter. I love watching the front seven, because I love good footwork, good angles. It’s good football in the box. I like watching good o-line play. That’s really my number one hobby.
But then, besides that, I’ll get on the game a little bit. I’ll play with some buddies, like guys I met up, teammates. We’re all over the place. It’s just how we stay in touch, with such busy schedules. And then, I’ll say I fish. I go to the gun range. I’m from Mississippi, so I love going to the gun range, fishing. We just went deep sea fishing. That was my first time. So, man, I just do a lot of things. I’m spontaneous. I’ll do anything. Painting, bowling, golfing; I just like doing a little bit everything.
Where did you guys go deep-sea fishing?
DC: I was out in Florida, out in Panama. Man, that was my first time. It was cool. You understand how the vast ocean is, how it eats them little boats up (laughs).
It’s crazy when you get out there. It’s really just you and the water.
DC: If you get one of those big ships, those big boats, they have those waves, it’s crazy. They got their own little gravity pull out there. This is why I see how people can get lost [at sea].
What video games do you play?
DC: Definitely the [NCAA] College Football this past year, I’ve been playing that like a maniac, Ultimate Team. I’ve been playing that, I’m big on Warzone, [NBA] 2K, and I’ve been playing Marvel Rivals a little bit here recently. I’ve been trying to level up on that. But you work out a couple hours of the day, and then you’re basically either on the phone taking calls, or you’re watching film and keeping up with everything, trying to get the edge up.
Who are some of your favorite offensive linemen to watch?
DC: Aaron Brewer of the Miami Dolphins. I like Shaq Mason. He made a lot of money with the Patriots, Bucs, Texans. Creed [Humphrey], I like him, of course. Jason Kelce, guys like that: just athletic lineman. Joe Thuney, smaller interior guys who are leveraged and technicians. I love watching them play, man, because it gives me hope, because I can see myself doing some of the things that they do. Basically, they’ve been dealing with the same problem I’ve dealt with. They just came before me.
I’m a Bears fan, so I was stoked when they got Joe Thuney. He was everything we hoped for and more.
DC: And then, he played tackle [in the playoffs]. People don’t understand the angles and how hard that is, from going to being almost in a phone booth to on the island, it’s a whole different ball game. To be able to do that at the NFL level is crazy. People don’t understand how hard that is, to be able to play both positions, let alone in the same season.
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Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
DC: I’m gonna start off in the locker room. Man, everybody’s gonna love me in the locker room. Y’all gonna love me. I’m gonna make everybody smile, and I’m about my business. I’m gonna be on time. I’m gonna be at practice. That’s how I was raised. That’s where I’m from. In Mississippi, you get up early and do it every day. I’m gonna go up and do it every day, because that’s what I’m paid to do, and I love this.
I feel like they’ll be getting a guy who’s a technician, who’s gonna make everybody around him better. We’re gonna bond off the field so we can be better on the field. The group of guys I’m gonna be able to gel with, we’re just gonna get better.
