The college football transfer portal is wide open right now and the first former Trojan has used the portal to his advantage. Jyarius Carter, a 6’1”, 220-pound freshman linebacker at West Georgia in 2025, is now a Mercer Bear.
Carter had a solid season with West Georgia as a true freshman, playing primarily in a backup role. In five games, he tallied 21 total tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception, and a forced fumble. He also led all freshmen with 21 tackles.
After the 2025 season, Mercer hired West Georgia head coach Joel Taylor. Coach Taylor served as Mercer’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2020-2023 before taking the head coach position at West Georgia. In two years with the Wolves, the team went 12-10 overall and 6-10 in conference play. This past season, West Georgia was 8-3 overall (5-3 in conference) and finished fourth in the United Athletic Conference.
The 2025 Bears finished 9-3 overall (8-0 in conference) and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs, losing 47-0 to South Dakota.
At the end of the season, Toledo hired head coach Mike Jacobs away from Mercer, opening the door for Coach Taylor. Carter is one of 10 West Georgia players who followed Taylor to Mercer.
The Mercer Bears Football Facebook page contributed to this story.
