A Conversation with RB Michael Carter During Jets OTAs (5/31)

not have to go to rookie meetings? Yeah. What was the difference in terms of preparing for last year's spring as opposed to this year's I think, I think, to be honest, I have more time to prepare, which is great because then it's allowed me to take my game to the next level. Um, that's what we're all trying to do, right, So, um, no, disrespected the rookie program. But man, you get home, you don't want to do anything of it, but you have to. So that's just

what it is. And so now I get to be able to I planned my day at the way I wanted to, and so, um, I feel like that's only gonna make my game better. What did you learn about being professional last year? Yeah? Do one thing. One thing I learned about last year's is is it's a consistency league and you can't just have one good game. You gotta do it every weekend and every day, not even just on the weekends, Like you gotta do it every

single day. Like I look up to a guy on his team and I probably don't tell Endop, but but C. J. Mosey and and I look at him, and I look at George pant As as too real like o gs, Like those are guys who have played in this league and and they just they do every single thing the right way, and so like I really appreciate them and the way that their professionalism and you know it runs up on me and you ask people around the building. You know I'm professional and what I did too. But um, um,

I think my parents for the way they raised me. Um, I think the high school I went to. You know, those experiences in high school or nothing short of important, and um you don't see as well just molding me to a grown man and then here just having someone to show me the ropes of dis league. So that's been it's been really cool. Along with Temco. I can't believe I left him out. Hey, you got him in there.

It's interesting you chose an offensive linement and inside linebacker. Yeah, yeah, you're saying, and you know it doesn't a lot of I guess, like a lot of teams that you see, like you know, guys stare underside of the ball, but not this team. Man. I really feel like last year it was we were all friends and we was all locked in and stuff. But just being back here has just been the best thing. I feel like for me.

You're not even from a training standpoint, because you know, training it is what it is, Training is gonna be training, but being around guys that you really love and one to fight for it's been super cool. Getting back to your family. Do you think it takes a village to

raise someone You just talked about your parents. We know your brothers played as well, right, I do feel like that, And I'm still thinking from my village that I had and just growing up and being able to give him nothing without them, And I tell them as as many as much as I can. My problem is communication. Well, I don't really like picking my phone up like that. I don't really call them texting, so I send voice memos. I can just say what I want to say and

then that's it. That's interesting. I'll text. I'm not like an old man but right, you know, but you're not much of a phone call guy. No, I mean it would be like more like a FaceTime like hey, all right, what's the playing? All right? Bye? Right, But if I haven't talked to you in a while, I'll be like, you know, send a voicemail, send a voice mail, yo, what's up? Man? Like to think about you, love you, praying for you, stuff like that, just so they can

hear it. They get hear my voice too, that's cool. Yeah, what do you take from your parents so much? And I know I'm never gonna be able to pay back, even if I get a one billion dollar contract, I can never pay it back, just because the all the all the foundation that they said for me and just being able to have a found there wasn't super strict on and they allowed me to make decisions on my own. They had they had rules, like some rules like but

it was all about respect. That was all about respect. So they put that, you know, they didn't stood that in there me and then the rest was up to me because you know, when you leave front college, they're out there. But that shouldn't be your first time you're making decisions like y'all. And they allowed me to like really just floction be myself. Where were you in the ranking orders for as old as youngest, I'm in the middle, so I'm I'm one of three and then um, I've

assisted that's like well young missus like elevel. But my older brother is twenty because I just turned twenty three and my younger brothers twenty two this year, so I'm in the middle. I don't. Yeah, now, your parents, what did they do? Did somebody stay home or they both were so so it was it was in the military.

So actually my dad and my mom separated. I don't know what year, but I was probably like six or seven, but I remember that they still live close to each other, so it was like almost like nothing to really happen, but they just didn't want to stay in the same room or something. But uh, they did, like they literally did so much for me, and like they taught me so much about respect and just like discipline and but also like enjoying life and being yourself and having fun,

laughing family. And it's amazing because you know, you hear like military and you're thinking, like, oh my gosh, she grew up like gee I Joe and I grew up a completely opposite of that that my parents, like especially my dad. My dad was like, look, yeah, I go into the military, y'all. You know, military can be an option for you. But you know you guys love football, so why don't you just do what you love? And

so now I'm in the NFL with your downtime. Are you kind of a guy who you just mentioned that you don't pick up the phone to call. It's more, hey, what's going on? What are we gonna do? Are you kind of person who's always got to be on the move, because I know, for me, I gotta have a schedule the next day. I gotta know what I'm gonna do. You know what's funny is like most days them all

by myself, and I like it that way. But also I am social, Like I am social, so like I need that, but I find myself sometimes like feeling drained if I'm around people for so long. Um, yeah, I just I gotta have my my alone time. It's like super important for me, like I gotta have so um but also like I just love being around good people, good energy, and it just charges me back up too. So it's complex, some weird, but it's all right. You ain't weird. You might be complex, Yeah, no doubt, and

I think people are complex there. Um I'm also I'm not that I'm not that complex. I'm just just be chilling. Yeah. Well, speaking of the chilling, what have you been doing this offseason? Because you told me before we started taping Hair on the Pod that you plan on the move quite a bit. Yeah, no, definitely. Um So, you know, trained down at Bumbarritos in in Miami, and that's where I was probably to like, what's I

got up here? And it's so hard because everybody's you know, this is what you should do for all seasons, should take this amount of time off. Um. So I went to l A for a Penninia event right after the season, like the Rookie Premier closing pretty much, and then two weeks later I went right back for the Super Bowl weekend and um, I did like some media there, and then I just got back to training, like I was already trained before I left for l A. But I got to see it. I got to see the country

a little bit. Bay Area. I went out to. Um, it's so funny, So I went out to I got tattoo shout out to Dave yeah, I was in I was in rich and kind of a lot of people. I don't know if people noticed, but like Elijah very Turks from is from Oakland, so of course I locked in with him. When I was out there, it was me, Dave, Elijah, and then met Comita Eisler, who used to play with us. Uh. We just walked around, walked around San Francisco, try to end and out. What do you think? Okay, it's all right,

I mean it's all right. Are you a burger guy? Ye? But I don't eat him a lot anymore. Um, but burger guy. Yeah, I'm about to go to five guys after this. It was my day off. I get the I get the m thursdays, I get the trick off a little bit. So what I gotta know about barbecue in North Carolina? Oh, they got in my opinion, it's just my opinion. They got the base barbecues off. Yeah,

because they got like it's like vinegar basin. So but I got that from my dad because I'm I grew up in Florida, but my dad's from South Carolina, so he put me on at an early age. So I'm just I'm blessed to be able to have that experience my whole life. What do you order? And if you're in one of the Carolinas and you're getting barbecue, I uh man, um, I'm I'm not gonna I don't really like pork. Okay, I think he's kind of nasty actually, um. But and I don't really eat me no more, I guess,

but I really do enjoy brisket like I love brisket. Yeah, yeah, I don't know, but yeah, I like briscot, so probably some brisht ye. Hey, so at the combine, Joe Douglas, your GM dropped that young MC reference. Do you like that nickname? Oh? Hey, I don't know. Yeah, I like it. I didn't work right. I think I like it because because of how he said it in the context at said, um, I appreciate Joe and and you know the way he does stuff. But also without being said, I do think

the nickname needs work. Oh really a little bit alright. I'd rather go by the voice. The voice the voice you can tell us why, because I feel like I know what to say. But like that I can I can be the voice for people who are thinking something but maybe they don't feel the courage to say it. Because one thing about me, I'm gonna beat myself every time. So I'm moren't happy to, you know say, with my mind, there's no doubt about that. I I like the voice. I do like young MC, but we gotta go with

what you think. And but also I feel like, also nicknames can't be just like I can't give myself. I have to be given that. But I kind of think from afar, just to watch in the way you operate, the respect that you have earned from both your teammates and also people inside the building, including Joe Douglas, is that we gotta listen to the voice. No and I and I appreciate that. I feel humble by that. Zack Wilson comes back here this spring had two one pounds.

He ended last season in two eight pounds. Before I ask you about Zach, how did you approach the offseason physically? Because you go through seventeen games. I know you don't playing each of them, but you played for in most of those games over the course of your rookie Scenson, what what do you have to do as far as your body is concerned, Man, I feel like it's so I feel like there's a lot different of a of

a game than college with colleges. Colleges, but physical, so physical, because you got guys that are really never ever gonna play again. And that's just what it is. And I feel like in the NFL, and I talked to my friend Javanta Williams about this something, I just feel like some guys are like, you know, it's a different league.

I don't say I don't want to single anybody else, but it's just a different league in terms of um, it's a very technical technique basically, well like if your techniques on a point, then it's a game of interest

even more than ever before. So your technique has to be on point as opposed, you can't just run full speed and try to take somebody's head off as a as a linebacker because guys like me running backs and receivers and tight end, you know, we're training to make everybody missing, you know, get skinny, not just trying to boom like brute force running everybody over. We don't get paid to run people over. We get paid the score touchdown.

So it's a game of it's a game of technique and on jevy in hell, so um, obviously you know all of us play hard, but I think it is different from that perspective and it creates a different a different field. A game, in my opinion, is not live in New Jersey. And they're bringing the excitement of win Las Vegas to online sports betting, getting on all your favorite teams, players and sports from boostep partlays to live in game odds on every major sport. They have what

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one one seven. So that's interesting. So maybe college sense. A lot of guys know there is no next step after this because most people play college ball, even if it's at the high level Division one. They're not playing in the National Football League. They might play with more reckless abandon and maybe in the National Football League you

got it's more of a thinking man's game. Yeah, well most of the game is is well I used to hear, you know, I used to hear like, you know, nine of football is mental, if I'm being honest, I never felt like that until I got to the NFL. I always felt like I'm just better than everybody else. But that's my mindset, not necessarily that it's always true, but that's my mindset going into it. Like I'm confident who

I am a company as a player. And we used had this joke when I was in cars, like I had a disease cause you gotta show me, you gotta show me disorder. But just because it was a joke, but like I really feel like that's how, you know, show me my opponent. And and a lot of guys in our locker room I like that, like we don't care who we're playing. I don't even I'm not gonna lie. Last year I didn't really have to. Probably like week six or seven, I had to stop looked at the

schedule because it doesn't matter. All these teams are good. Yeah, so show me the person, Noel, and then we'll go from there. We'll go when the person now you know, like you know, tendencies and it will go for there just because at the end of the day, no aboutter who you play, I gotta do my job. So I think that's that's a that's another thing I learned last year body wise, So yeah, body, um gotta take care of Like I'm talking like immediately, But what did you

do this off season that might have been different? Oh yeah, I think it's like Zach came back to one. I think for me, it's, um, it's one thing to gain weight because I can. I can. It's kind of hard for me to gain weight a little bit, but I can do it. It's very doable. It's just something I had to let put my mind to doing. When I got here last year, I think I was like two o two two one, and then I would drop in

like my weight fluctuation so easy. And so I think also like a part of that as one getting older, like I'm able to put some more good weight on. So I'm probably like I'm probably around two or three right now, but like a sturdy two or three were like I'm not. My weight is not dropping every day like some days like my weight would be like to oh two to a one and one day, I'll be like one on like a Wednesday, and then I had to get back up by Sunday. And I could do

it and it's no problem. But I was so used to doing it, but now it's like my I don't even I step on a scot, I know it, I'm going away. It's arranged from like probably two or two or two and one or two or three. I wanna I'm gonna try to get it like two or five. But to be honest, it's a speed league, so I feel like the best way to stay healthy is not wait,

it's pad level, yeah, and mobility. So I know some guys in the league, like and I'm friends with a couple or you know, top running backs in their game. You know they don't play at what you see on the end ofnet, not even close a lot less. Now would you say pad level because people hear that at home sometimes and I don't necessarily think we pay as much importance to that as we probably should. Is it always been natural to you because everybody talks about your

pad level? Is that something you had going back to pee Wee high school? Yeah? If I'm being honest, I think it was more like my contact balance than anything that that I've I've been good at. But I'm also like probably like I have a little sen of gravity I'll put over um. But last year I'm not. I'm watching the table. I kinda I was kind of running too high to be honest. Yeah, like I feel like just assessing my game and how and how much better

I can get. UM. Yeah, I think I ran a little bit too high, But I have such good contact balance that it builds me out a lot. I get here or that I'll get grabbed by the by the jersey and I get just like and kept and not even missing step. But I just want to be able to put that along with lower pad level and and and just see where how it goes. I see where I go. You talk about contact bounce. Do you get mad when the first guy takes you down because it

doesn't happen very often? Yeah, I guess super pist like words you don't want to be around in the film room when you see that happen. I guess so mad, And it's like it's a it's super embarrassing for me. I guess super embarrassed. But it's because I've always I've always been taught that from when I was a kid, like really small. My dad's like, all right, like before again, he'll be like, ladisan have a good game. Don't let

the first man attack every Saturday. He used to say that, but all right, probably and that was just the case. It was never that. So when somebody so I actually order, like, you know, you play a game, the game how but when it does happen, I'm like, man, you go back and watch like any clip. I had a clip. I could probably think of like three right now. When we was playing the Titans on second play again, we had like a pitch to the left and I get crushed.

I think, um, Jayon Brown, Okay, what's the last name, John Jayn Smith something like that. Here's a good player, though I get crushed by him, and I don't go down. I don't go down. I stay up by my feet. That's like the contract I was we were talking about. I break the tackle completely. I'm about to bounce out and take you down the sidline for a first down. And he likes swashing in the ankle and right and then uh so the bucks. I wish I could had

that one back, but my ankle was killing me. That a game to be honest, but he's slipped me Antoine Winfield, I try have an antoine in Florida. He slashed me in the ankle. Then I go down with the ten yard line you know. Of course I'm such a nice guy. I get a touchdown to Braxton. But um, yeah, it's a couple of man I just really think about like that keeps me up at night, does it really? Yeah? Stuff like that, which just because I love it and I want to win. Yeah, your love for the game

is real. Yeah, seriously, I was in like even like today I was. I didn't really tone of probably like wasn't the best mood is more. I woke, come ahead ache, but I touched that green grass. Oh my god, allay a ready to play. And it's like football brings me so much happens. And I also like the people like I'm in the locker room with they bring me like so much joy too. Just somebody that grass man ashould have. How much did you guys collectively grow as a group

like over the all season? Well, why you experience last year together and how that could help you now that you seen all these off season additions added to the mix. Yeah, yeah, I feel like last season you know, we're kind of trauma bonded. Trauma bonded. I like that because nobody likes to lose. But I feel like we played so hard for each other that I know. I know, because you don't know. You're a rookie, you don't really know a lot.

But I know now that is due to go to war for me and I go to war for them, and they know that about me. So um, that's that's not a question. And we broughtly. I know it's the NFL and you can't really bring every single player back, but we're brought a good you know, good amount of his back. And so you look at a team like since that's how they that's how they got to the ball. You know, they they brought guys back and let them develop and let them you know, flourishing, and what the

what they ended up being. You know, they went to the super Bowl and from being honest, maybe should have won it, but what if don't count. You gotta just play as it is. But um, really good team though, Um, but yeah, you just you gotta let the players like growing development. I know that the time went from no man in this league, but there's a there's an aspect of development that needs to be done, and so uh,

just yeah, we're suiting way closer. And then you know the additions you know when you build a culture and within the locker room of of all right, no matter what it takes, we're trying to win. And then you you don't, you don't. It doesn't matter who you bring in,

It doesn't matter whoever it is. We're gonna make sure that they're ready to help us win because whining at this point is like the only thing that matters, because you like, look, you look at that guy, like I say, he has like two rest of yours and his team's three wins, four wins. I think he's going to the

Pro Bowl. No, we're gonna be at the house, just because people are trying to success and so like when when when you're voting on that type of stuff, they're gonna look gap, oh okay, well this guy has been winning games too. Oh pro same thing. Are you gonna be one of the best players in league in your team sucks? Yeah, it's just it's just what it is. And you can be one of the best players in the league on a bad team, but they don't see

it as that from the outside of the canyon. They see it as oh, if your team sucks you, and that's just what it is. From from a famous vector. W bet is now live in New Jersey and they're bringing the excitement of win Las Vegas to online sports betting, getting on all your favorite teams, players and sports from boostep parlays to live in game odds on every major sport.

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zero seven one one seven. Uh, what do you think about a briest solid just the interactions that you've had with him, maybe off the field or what you've seen pre fleep from him on the field. Yeah, he's humble, he's a he's confident, and that's one thing that you need to lead is confidence because you're gonna be sometimes you don't get caught just because that's just the nature of the beast. And there's a lot of guys in the league that are good as well great legendary. So, um,

he had confidence, He's humble, he asked questions. He's super eager to learn. Um. He always has to do rack on, which is so funny because I don't even know what his hero looks like. Um, but yeah, he's super cool dude, man like um from day one. He I hit him on Draft Day and you know, grass family, you know what I'm supposed to do. And then uh, he hit me, you know, basically on the same thing he says out in the media. You know, do you do you like his game? Yeah? I do. He's a he can run,

he's fast, you can catch, you can block. You know what I liked about you, Brian Baldinger. Body, you know, it's funny, cool story. Yeah, I'm in for a lot of going back home to train. You know, I've seen at the airport. I've seen at the airport. Hey, Barty, he was like, hey, I always long. It was like, I get it. I shouldn't have put him on him at the airport. But my guarter. Oh are you know did he live? He live in Jersey might South Jersey outside Philly. Yeah, you guys just kind of feel the

cat you just get. You just did his voice pretty well right there. You should have seen his spade though. It was so funny. Um yeah, super cool guy. So we're watching practice last year. It was probably one of your early practices. And typically when you see guys go through individual drills, it's always a veteran the first guy off, and Baldi hits me on the shoulder and says, who's that guy? Who's that guy? I said, it's Michael Carter. He said, every drill, He's the first guy off, every guy,

every drill. It would feel it would feel like uncomfortable for me to go last. I've always been the first line, like everything I do, because my thing is like a lot of a lot of people are afraid to mess up. If I mess up, that's just what it is. But I don't want to just sit in the background and just like life, life pass me by. I gotta get

it now. So that's kind of approaching. I think in a couple of years, might even be this year, they're gonna be guys saying sitting in this chair saying that I'm looking up to Michael Carter like the way you talk about George Fan, c J. Mallis, Lyne Tephan Coleman, because your approach is professional from the year yeah, and I think that you know you when you bring guys in that WANTA that want to be great, it's hard

to it's hard to go get that title. It's hard to be great because that's like not just like you don't you're not great off of one game, two games, five games, ten games. It's every it's every day. Like c J. Mosley is a great player, he's a great human, right, Like he does everything right. Like that's greatness. We're on the phone, we're on the phone called Michael Vickers today.

That's greatness. He lived life every single day great and like everybody has their opinion about, like you know, his situation, but at the end of the day, you can't take anything from because a lot of guys don't make it in this league. He excelled from day one and in that market that that was feeding for successful foot watching like A yeah, so it's a it was super cool

to here and talking yesterday. But just like whenever whenever you have greatness around you, like or when you when you have access too great years, like, it's so important to take advantage of it as someone who's who's like there. So I started to do good every single day. And so yeah, I hope and pray that you know, there's a guy sitting in this chain next year man, like you know, Michael car is a great example because that

would mean a lot to me. It's gonna happen. Sure it can't ask you a little bit about your style a little but you got the Mike Tyson sut on today. I love that the hat. Um do you put a lot of thought until what you're going with or is it kind of like you get up in the morning and what you're feeling that that Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I I when I first started, like, well, I've always been able to like coordinate and dress, but now like you know, more money, more problems. So, um, I really

like really dressing up and stuff. But whether it's calm or casual, you're like you're actually dressing up going out to either doing something. Um. But yeah, I got the short off Instagram, which is so funny. But this hat I got, Um, I met this guy in New Orleans. I went to the um ME and Javonte went to the National Championship basketball game. Yeah, so we spent the weekend in New Orleans. Funny, we missed our flight after

the game and we just stayed on purpose. Like we was talking in the airport and we met Darryl Williams from Kansas City. I guess you just signed with the Cardinal Section. We met him in the airport and we're talking. We're chopping it up, like and we're sitting in the airport at the gate and Vaunton mrs. Just like just because we're having such a good time. So we're like, you know what, bro, I'm changing my flight too. And

so we went at home back to hotel. We had got some gumbo, jump live ris and beans all that, and we went to the store called the Maiden the Hood and a super cool brand. And then the guy named to shout at my dog. So I got his hat on the you might see it, um but yeah, like now I don't even think about I got I have clothes to the point where like you buy you buy a piece instead of just like you buy clothes

because you're gonna go to the outfit one time. So now like when you buy like a lot of those pieces, they can mix match with each other so that when you buy, say buy one shirt, we have four or five pairs of pants that go with. Now you have ample clothes and ample outfits because you don't want to You want to try not to wear the same thing twice for a while. You want to spread out like you know how often you But it's like being a running back here, your outfits gonna be first style. You'll

take a shirt and with different pieces. Yeah, there's guys who who want to wear colorful, and then there's guys who like neutral colors. And then there's the Dickie the Dickie suit guys. And if I'm being honest, like I like the Dickie shuits, I think they're cool. Yeah, with a turn, I'll tell you what. However, run for Carolina basketball there, man? How about him? Shout Armando and uh the ours our gene k manic manic. You guys are

gonna be preseason number one next year. They maybe actually well, because they're all coming back. Maybe you and Jamonte will be back wherever the final four is next year. Uh yeah, I wanted to win it this time. Yeah, yeah, so they better win it. If I'm being honest, yeah, I'll come back. Hold start if I coming back. He's never man it. Man is leaving loaded. But for a now we're in a concentrate on the Jets, and I know fans are pumped to watch you in your two and

what's ahead. Uh, we're going by the voice that is Michael Carter, the voice. Thanks buddy, Voice.