Two standout Newberry defensive players signed their names on the dotted line with major football programs on Thursday afternoon.
Defensive lineman Jarquez Carter signed a national letter of intent with Ohio State, and teammate edge Mykah Newton inked with the University of Miami.
Carter and Newton helped lead Newberry to a 10-3 record and district title, and the Panthers advanced to the 2A region final round before being knocked out at Cocoa last Friday.
Newberry coach Ed Johnson says these two guys have meant so much to the Panthers’ success in their four years.
“These guys came in four years ago with a plan,” Johnson said. “To see them go through failure and then success and not lose motivation and not lose any faith that they were going to get to this point is a testament that you can be successful anywhere. You just have to put the work in.”
Carter, a four-star recruit ranked 42nd overall in Florida by 247 Sports, had a huge senior year with 84 tackles and an eye-popping 48 tackles for loss and 17 sacks. According to Johnson, Carter ended up with what is believed to be a Newberry-record 312 tackles for his career.
Carter, who committed to Ohio State last summer, never wavered in picking the Buckeyes over Miami, Florida, Florida State, UCF and Penn State.
“I feel like we (Ohio State) have the best class in the country this year,” Carter said. “I feel like there is a high ceiling for us. We are going to win the national championship this year and then we are going to build on.”
Carter was in Columbus last weekend for Ohio State’s loss to rival Michigan and didn’t take kindly to the Wolverines planting their flag on the Buckeyes field after their upset win.
“I don’t plan on losing to Michigan,” Carter added. “Seeing them plant the flag in the O that made me want to get on the field and restart the game and do something about it.”
Newton, a three-star recruit, ranks 122nd in the 247 rankings. He had 67 tackles, including 23 tackles for loss, and nine sacks for the Panthers in 2024.
Newton originally committed to NC State but switched when Miami came with an offer.
“We prayed about this decision because we really didn’t know what to do,” Newton said. “Miami contacted me every day. They showed tremendous love and to this day since I committed and signed. They have shown tremendous love.”