Carter Hewitt Had to Try Out Just to Make UTRGV. Can He Now Play His Way Into a Starting Role?

Photo Credit: UTRGV Athletics

Carter Hewitt’s UTRGV story started with an open tryout.

Two years later, the question is a lot different.

Can Carter Hewitt play his way into a starting role?

No starting job has been won. But for a player who has already gone from trying to make the roster to finding a role on Saturdays, it’s a fair question to ask.

UTRGV Athletics confirms Hewitt made the team through an open tryout during the Vaqueros’ 2024 practice season.

His parents, Carlington and Laura Hewitt, gave DITV a much better look at what that time was really like behind the scenes.

The football part was never the concern.

“Carter is training 90% of his time,” Carlington said. “That’s just what he loves to do.”

The bigger challenge was patience.

Carter knew UTRGV’s practice year meant he would have to wait before there were real Saturdays, real games and a real chance to show what he could do.

His family tried to make sure that year wasn’t wasted.

Carlington said they even made a vision board with him and talked about preparing for where he wanted to be, not just where he was at the time.

“He knew he was going to have to wait a year,” Carlington said. “But that year was for him to grow.”

Then came the call.

“I made it,” Carter told his parents after earning his spot.

Laura remembers being proud, but not shocked.

“Carter never goes into anything thinking, ‘I won’t make it,’” she said. “He doesn’t have that mentality of what-ifs.”

Hewitt wasn’t coming out of high school without a résumé, either.

At Medina Valley, his biggest production came on offense. As a senior, he caught 58 passes for 990 yards and eight touchdowns, then added 112 rushing yards and three more scores. He had also played in the secondary, but most of the numbers people noticed came with the ball in his hands.

That makes where he is now a little more interesting.

The athlete who produced like a receiver in high school had to take the open-tryout route into UTRGV, find his first college role on special teams and is now trying to make his case on defense.

Last season, he finally got to show some of it on Saturdays.

Hewitt played in all 12 games during UTRGV’s inaugural season and carved out a role on special teams, finishing with 175 kickoff-return yards. Against nationally ranked Stephen F. Austin, he returned four kicks for 83 yards.

Now the next step is defense.

Speaking with RGVSports during camp, Hewitt summed up the path pretty simply.

“It’s been a journey, for sure. You know, a lot of ups and downs and just trials and tribulations.”

He also talked about the guys who have been around since the beginning, including Alijah “Peanut” Prosser, Jordan Ford and T.J. Neal, and how much he leans on that group as he continues to grow in the defensive back room.

That room has experience. It also has competition.

What matters now is whether Hewitt can push his way into a bigger role.

His dad may have said it best.

“Preparation meets opportunity.”

That might be the best way to describe where he is right now.

He trained through the practice year. He found a role on special teams. He waited for his chances.

Now the question is whether the next one can be bigger.

Laura’s message to him hasn’t changed.

“Stay focused and don’t get in your own way.”

For a guy who once had to make UTRGV through an open tryout, even asking whether he can compete for a starting role shows how far the story has moved.

Whether he gets there is still to be decided.

But Carter Hewitt is a long way from just trying to make the team.

Carlington and Laura Hewitt spoke exclusively with DITV for this story. Carter Hewitt’s comments are from his conversation with RGVSports. Open-tryout and 2025 statistical information verified through UTRGV Athletics.