A returning Clemson star on the defensive side of the ball was pegged among the top players who decided not to go pro after the 2023 season, and instead run it back for another year in college.

Pro Football Focus highlighted the Tigers’ Barrett Carter as the top linebacker prospect who turned down the 2024 NFL Draft to return to school for one more season.

“Carter entered the season as the top linebacker prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft according to PFF’s lead draft analyst Trevor Sikkema,” PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote. “While his PFF grade took a step back as a junior (70.6 compared to 81.4 in 2022), he still has elite athleticism and an all-around game that’ll make him one of the top linebackers in the 2025 draft as well.”

A second-team All-ACC selection in 2023, Carter ranked second on the team in tackles (67) and was credited with 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, six pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery over 12 games (all starts).

The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder put an exclamation point on his junior campaign with an impressive performance in Clemson’s Gator Bowl victory over Kentucky on Dec. 29, when he posted four tackles (0.5 for loss), a half-sack, three pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Prior to the Gator Bowl, Carter spoke about his decision to run it back one more time with the Tigers in 2024.

“It was probably the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make,” Carter said. “Your dream is, the opportunity is right there in front of you, and you have a tough decision to make. But you have to really weigh out the pros and cons. So, I felt like I had some unfinished business here. I feel like I left a lot of meat on the bone this past year, and I came here to win a national championship. I set out a lot of goals for myself, and I had an opportunity to come back and I talked to a lot of people, got a lot of input and decided that it was in my best interest for myself, selfishly, to come back.

“I love this university, I love this team, I love these people, and I couldn’t leave yet. The guys that I get to go to work with every day, they make it so special for me, and I couldn’t leave them yet. So, it was a tough decision to say the least.”

A 2022 All-American, Carter entered the Gator Bowl credited by the coaching staff with 166 tackles (20.5 for loss), 8.5 sacks, 12 pass breakups, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and fumble recovery across 36 games (25 starts). He stood alongside Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and North Carolina’s Cedric Gray as the only three FBS players to post 19 or more tackles for loss, 10-plus passes defensed, multiple forced fumbles and multiple interceptions across the 2022-23 seasons.