Jalen Carter doesn’t need the Heisman Trophy to validate his greatness: ‘I’ve never seen anything like him’

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Jalen Carter doesn’t need a Heisman Trophy to validate his time with Georgia football

ATLANTA — Jalen Carter will not be going to New York this weekend for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. There are legitimate reasons for that.

While the award has become quarterback centric — all four finalists this year are quarterbacks and only three non-quarterbacks have won the award in the last 15 years — Carter missed two games due to a knee injury and was limited in the first month of the season due to an ankle injury. He’s only been a full force in Georgia’s final six games of the season.

Related: Stetson Bennett releases classy statement on being a Heisman finalist amid social media outrage

Turns out that was all he needed to show why he’s the best player in the country, regardless of what a bronze statue says.

“I told y’all he’s different,” Jamon Dumas-Johnson said. “He’s unstoppable. He’s a different person, a different animal. I’ve never seen anything like him.”

Carter has only 3.0 sacks this season. Yet none were more iconic than the one he had against LSU. With 2:27 remaining in the second quarter, Carter swam around one offensive lineman and squeezed by another. Neither could get more than a hand on him as he got to Jayden Daniels before the athletic quarterback even had a chance to evade.

Yet instead of slamming Daniels to the ground, Crater wrapped him up and hoisted him into the air. The Georgia defensive tackle held Daniels in the like a parent holds a child.

Before putting Daniels to the ground, Carter had a simple celebration. There would be no elaborate dance.

Georgia will be represented in New York this weekend, with Stetson Bennett. Despite complaints from many, the Georgia quarterback is certainly deserving of the honor, especially with his 13-2 touchdown to interception ratio in games against top-25 foes. Add in four rushing touchdowns and a 73 percent completion percentage and Bennett was at his best against the best.

Practicing against Carter in practice probably had something to do with that.

“Unfortunately we don’t let him do that to Stetson, otherwise Stetson would be in pieces,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of the play made by Carter.

While most were impressed with Carter’s raw strength of holding Daniels in the air, Smart was more complimentary of the mental aspect of Carter’s game and playmaking.

It’s worth mentioning that Carter being freakishly good isn’t some new discovery. He was a projected top-5 pick before the start of the season. His play against LSU was not akin to Christopher Columbus finding North America.

Related: NFL experts: Jalen Carter is best player on Georgia’s team, ‘he destroys them all’