During a visit to the Colorado campus in January, Dylan Manuel built an instant connection with defensive line coach Domata Peko.
The impression made by Peko was a big reason why Manuel chose to sign with the Buffaloes as a transfer.
When Peko, who played in the NFL for 15 years, left CU for a job with the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers a month later, it was a disappointment for Manuel, but he hasn’t flinched.
“You just gotta adapt to it,” Manuel said Friday after the Buffaloes’ 12th practice of spring. “Like, itap all about overcoming adversity and how you adapt to it. Just really getting to know the new coach and just changing to it, and then just being with it.”
That new coach, Dante’ Carter, has made a good impression on Manuel and the other defensive linemen in a hurry.
A graduate assistant last year in his first season in Boulder, Carter was promoted by head coach Deion Sanders to the defensive line coach position after Peko left in February.
Itap been a quick ascent for Carter, 26, who completed his own playing career less than four years ago.
“Itap been very good, man,” Carter said. “I’m very appreciative, very honored for the opportunity. I just want to thank the man above, first off, and thank Coach Prime for believing in me. I know I’m a very young coach, and coach seen it in me. He took a whole year to experience with me and to see that I’m the fit for it. And I’m just very appreciative.”
Carter grew up in New Orleans and began his college career at Southeastern Louisiana in 2018 before transferring to Prairie View A&M. He played defensive tackle for the Panthers for three years, and posted 29 tackles, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks as a senior in 2022. That season, he actually played against current CU running back DeKalon Taylor, who was at Incarnate Word.
Despite being not much older than his players, Carter said he hasn’t found difficulty in earning respect as a coach.
“Not at all. I think if you separate and draw that line between the players and you, you’ll be fine,” he said. “I know every guy in that room respects me as their coach, and then once we separate and we’re not in football settings, then we can joke around and do all that. But when it’s time to work and we’re grinding, I’m coach, and they understand that and we all know what it is.”
Youth, in fact, has helped Carter connect with the Buffaloes’ defensive linemen, all of which are new to the program, either as transfers or as freshmen.
“Oh, I love coach Carter,” said Santana Hopper, a senior transfer from Tulane. “He’s a new and young coach, so, you know, he’ll get out there and he’ll show you how everything’s done. Like, he’ll get down in the stance, really show you how everything’s done and he pours into us every day. He wants to see the best from us, and I think if we keep showing up and doing things he tells us to do, we’ll be great.”
Manuel agreed with Hopper and said, “Itap him just giving his all to us and us giving it back to him.”
While Carter is young, this isn’t his first coaching job. In 2024, he was the defensive line coach at Texas College, an NAIA school in Tyler, Texas. Under his direction, the Steers led the SAC conference and finished fourth in the NAIA in sacks, with 39, in 2024.
He also worked at Trench Performance, where he helped to train NFL players while working under Trench founder BT Jordan. A highly regarded pass rush specialist, Jordan was hired in February by the Dallas Cowboys after two seasons with the Denver Broncos, helping them lead the NFL in sacks both years.
“A big, big mentor for me is coach BT Jordan,” Carter said. “He’s played a big role in my life, teaching me a lot of the ins and outs into it, and he just developed me as a man also, so itap bigger than football for him.”
In videos posted by this spring, Carter has displayed a tremendous amount of energy, which he said stems from his passion for the sport, as well as a desire to get the most out of his players.
“Just being honest, man, ball is all I ever had and I pour into it and thatap why I bring that passion out in me every day because this is all I got,” he said. “And I treat it like itap all I got. Every day I’m gonna come to work like itap my last day. I’m gonna put on for Coach Prime, CU, and my family, and thatap just what it is every day.
“That passion, it brings it out of me. Like I’m getting chills right now talking about it because this is all I got and I love this game. And this game has done a lot for me; it changed my life.”
