Carter a star in Penn State's tight-end show

STATE COLLEGE - All the talk about Bill O'Brien's adoration of tight ends when he took the Penn State job has proven to be well-founded.

Just ask Kyle Carter.

"I'm lovin' it," Carter said Tuesday. "I mean, ever since Coach O'Brien was named the head coach, I knew that the tight end was going to be an integral part of this offense."

Consider this: Last season, under the late Joe Paterno, only two tight ends caught a pass. They were Andrew Szczerba (now graduated) and Kevin Haplea (now transferred), and had only 15 between them, good for 8.3 percent of the team's receptions. This season, under O'Brien, five different tight ends have caught a combined 41 balls for 29.7 percent of the team's catches.

Leading the way in that group is Carter, the redshirt freshman who many Penn State fans probably couldn't name prior to this season. With 279 yards on 23 catches, the quotable Delaware native has come out of just about nowhere to be one of senior quarterback Matt McGloin's go-to weapons.

Carter, the F-tight end in O'Brien's two-tight end offense, has learned the former New England Patriots' offensive coordinator's scheme quite well.

"Yeah, he's a very smart guy. He's a very instinctive player, and he's one of those football players that you only have to tell once," O'Brien said.

Carter trails only No. 1 wide receiver Allen Robinson in catches and receiving yards on the Nittany Lions (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten). Now, he finds himself as the only freshman on the John Mackey Award watchlist. O'Brien's offense can't get all of the credit, now.

"He puts us in the situations we need to be in, but it's all about just making the play when you're in that situation," Carter said. "It's great to be in this offense, but you still got to be able to make the play."

As Penn State prepares for a primetime clash at Iowa (4-2, 2-0) on Saturday, expect O'Brien's game plan to involve Carter, as it has all year - he has had a reception in all six of the Lions' contests this year.

Carter said he watches Patriots games differently now that he works under their former coach.

"Every time Tom Brady does a call or whenever they're in the no-huddle, I understand what's about to happen, what's going on. So it's a lot more in-depth this year," Carter said. "And of course I'm just watching [Patriots tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez] just because they're doing what we're doing here."

McGloin, who is in the midst of the best season of his career, certainly hasn't minded the addition of the tight end as a weapon.

"He's always had the ability. He's probably got one of the best sets of hands on the team," McGloin said of Carter. "He's got a lot of talent and he's a hard worker, so I've known for a long time that he's going to be something special, and he's just going out and playing well each and every Saturday."