Football
- Title:
- Running Backs Coach/Co-Recruiting Coordinator
- Email:
- barfield_cj@mercer.edu
- Phone:
- (478) 301-4603
Carter Barfield enters his seventh season as running backs coach and second season as co-recruiting coordinator at Mercer University in 2019. Barfield has served on Mercer's coaching staff since the Bears returned to the gridiron in 2013.
Coaching Experience:- Mercer University – Running Backs Coach/Co-Recruiting Coordinator (2013-Present)
- 2018
- Led a stable of running backs that included senior standout Tee Mitchell and emerging threat Tyray Devezin
- Saw Tee Mitchell break Mercer's all-time rushing record with 2,660 career yards & gain 100-plus yards in four games before a season-ending injury
- Developed Tyray Devezin into one of the SoCon's best backs while he earned HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-American honors
- Devezin finished season with 926 rushing yards & averaged 24 carries & 117.0 yards over last four weeks after Mitchell went down with injury
- Played key role in landing 22-man 2019 recruiting class that ranked among nation's best
- 2017
- Led a unit that averaged 143.4 rushing yards per game & eclipsed 100 rushing yards vs. Alabama & Auburn
- Mentored junior Tee Mitchell, who led team in carries (155), rushing yards (626) & rushing touchdowns (7) en route to All-SoCon honors
- Saw senior Alex Lakes become program's all-time rushing yards & rushing touchdowns leader
- Three Mercer running backs combined for 17 rushing touchdowns
- 2016
- Led an injury-ravaged unit that averaged 176.1 rushing yards per game & found the end zone 15 times on the ground
- Top back Alex Lakes took 105 carries for 449 yards & four touchdowns
- 2015
- Bears averaged 212.5 rushing yards per game (4.8 yards per carry)
- Orange & Black found end zone 23 times on ground over 11 games
- Rushing attack featured duo of Tee Mitchell & Alex Lakes, who combined for over 1,600 yards
- Mitchell earned All-SoCon Second Team honors
- 2014
- Barfield's rushing attack helped Mercer rank second in SoCon in scoring (32.5 points per game)
- Bears averaged 203.1 rushing yards per game (5.0 yards per carry)
- Standout Alex Lakes burst onto scene as redshirt freshman with SoCon-leading & program record 1,107 yards & 17 touchdowns
- 2013
- Mercer averaged 6.2 yards per carry in Barfield's first season with Mercer
- Two backs, JeTarii Donald & Payton Usher, compiled over 750 rushing yards
- Barfield helped lead Mercer to 100-plus rushing yards in all 12 games, including 300-plus rushing yards in six contests
- 2018
Barfield came to Mercer from the University of Kentucky, where he served as an offensive quality control coach and graduate assistant for two seasons. He worked heavily with the quarterbacks and running backs.
Before his time at Kentucky, Barfield spent three years at the University of Tennessee-Martin, working in several different capacities with the team. He started his coaching tenure at UT-Martin as a defensive graduate assistant before moving to the other side of the ball as an offensive graduate assistant coach, where he coached wide receivers for one year. Barfield spent his last year at UT-Martin as the quarterbacks coach, helping create and develop the team’s passing game, while also assisting in recruiting.
Barfield played collegiate football for five years under head coach Bobby Lamb at Furman University as a wide receiver. During his playing years, the team drew top-12 national rankings in four of the five years, including a Southern Conference Championship in 2004.
A graduate of Furman, he received with a bachelor’s degree in history in December 2006. Barfield is a native of Merritt Island, Fla., where he attended Melbourne Central Catholic High School.Â
He is married to the former Jenny Watson, a Macon native. The couple has two daughters, Hannah & Sarah James.
