Following four seasons at Clemson, Barrett Carter never imagined he’d be teammates with a player from the Tigers’ archrival, South Carolina.

But that’s the position the former Clemson linebacker now finds himself in, after being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Before the Bengals selected Carter in the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft (No. 119 overall), they took another linebacker in the second round – South Carolina’s Demetrius Knight Jr.

Carter met with the media after rookie minicamp Friday and was asked about his relationship with Knight, who spent his final college season with the Gamecocks in 2024 after four years at Georgia Tech and one at Charlotte.

“We met at the combine and it was super cool, super casual,” Carter said. “I never thought that I would be teammates with a South Carolina Gamecock, but here we are today.

“But D-Knight, he’s a great dude. He’s a great man, he’s super smart, super intelligent. We’ve been feeding off each other. I’ve been trying to learn from him, and vice versa. So, I’m excited to team up with him. A lot of plays to be made in the future, for sure.”

As for Carter himself, he said it felt great to hit the field for the first day of rookie minicamp on Friday.

“First time being in Cincinnati. Got here yesterday and got on the field today and got to move around. It was a little chilly, so I wasn’t used to that,” Carter said. “But it was a great experience, just getting out there, moving around, getting coached up. So, it was super fun.”

Carter, a two-time All-American and two-time All-ACC honoree, is fresh off signing his rookie contract with the Bengals on Thursday – a milestone moment that he’ll remember forever.

“Oh my gosh, it was probably the second-most surreal moment of my life,” he said. “Number one, I would say, was getting that call on draft day. But yesterday, it was special and a moment that I’ll probably never forget the rest of my life. I immediately called my parents after and filled them in. But it was a super special moment, so I’m ready to get to work now.”

A 2024 Butkus Award finalist, Carter tallied 254 tackles in his Clemson career from 2021-24, including 31.5 tackles for loss. He also had 12.5 sacks, broke up 24 passes, had three interceptions and forced two fumbles while also recovering three fumbles.

The 6-foot, 231-pounder said Bengals coaches have told him that they have a good plan for him and high expectations for him.

“They don’t want me to come in and take a backseat to anybody. They want me to come in and be who I am from day one, and that’s what I plan to do,” Carter said. “So, I’m just trying to come in here and show my value and create value for myself and just get coached up from the older guys, from the veterans and get coached up from the coaches. So, just trying to show them who Barrett Carter is.”