Junior defensive tackle Zachary Carter was named the SEC defensive lineman of the week for his performance in the Gators' 38-24 victory over South Carolina. A dominant force in the middle, Carter had eight tackles (tying for the team lead), 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries against the Gamecocks. Carter was a four-star defensive end coming out of high school who now has settled in at defensive tackle, although he can still play end if needed. "He's a guy that has bought into our program more or as much as any of the d-linemen that we've had since we've been here in what we expect from him, with the effort from him we expect to play, and how we expect him to do it," Mullen said. "He's done an amazing job of buying into all of that. Part of that is you look at self-evaluation."You've seen him look at what his strengths are and then play to his strengths and buy into his strengths, and you see the success he's having now. He's not going to be a big 340-pound inside guy, but he's really quick. He's big enough to be quick inside, and he's not this twitch edge guy, but he's a big edge guy that has athletic ability. So, that helps him create those different matchups where we can move him around on the field." - Gainesville Sun