Carter Coughlin, a 6-foot-4, 212-pound four-star senior linebacker from Eden Prairie, is considered the top in-state product from the Class of 2016. Coughlin was one of ten finalists for the Minnesota Mr. Award that was announced last Sunday.
Coughlin helped lead Eagles to a 10-1 mark this season, losing to Totino-Grace 27-13. Eden Prairie finished 35-1 in his three years on varsity, winning a state title as a sophomore and junior.
Eden Prairie head coach Mike Grant praises his star player.
“Cater is an impact player whose combination of speed and strength makes him a threat wherever he is lined up on defense as well as offensively and on special teams. He has been an outstanding leader both in our program and our school over the past three years.”
Gopher Hole caught up with Coughlin after the award banquet to learn the latest on his senior year and hopes for next season.
Gopher Hole: Obviously, a terrific senior season and great career at Eden Prairie. You won two state titles and came close again this year and were a finalist for the Mr. football Award. What is going to stand out as some of the highlights for you when you look back at your high school career?
Carter Coughlin: There is a lot of highlights, especially playing for a program like Eden Prairie. There are so many different things that could stand out for me, but the biggest thing just has been the journey. All of it, with all my “bros” that I have been playing with since I was in third grade and the coaching staff, dreaming of playing under Friday Nights Lights. All that kind of stuff. The whole journey was pretty incredible.
Gopher Hole: We got to see your highlight video as part of the Minnesota Mr. Football Award and I’ve seen you several times in person. When you see some of those highlights, do you even surprise even yourself sometimes when you look at some of the plays that you make?
Carter Coughlin: I don’t know if I surprise myself, but it gets me really excited to see how I’ll be able to incorporate some of those highlights into playing at the “U” and see how my skills will develop. How I’ll get bigger and faster and all that kind of stuff.
Gopher Hole: Have you set up your official visit yet?
Carter Coughlin: I have. I’m doing it December 11th through the 13th with the majority of the other in-state commits.
Gopher Hole: You had a couple of other Gopher commitments up for the Mr. Football Award in Kamal Martin of Burnsville and Tyler Johnson from Minneapolis North. You have gotten a pretty good friendship with those kids. What does it mean to have other players up for this award who are some of the best players in the state?
Carter Coughlin: It just goes to show that Minnesota is bringing in some dang good recruits coming up, so it will be really fun to see how each of us develops in college. We have already gotten so close just being committed and hanging out with each other, so it will be fun to see how those relationships develop.
Gopher Hole: Obviously, Coach Claeys was a defensive coordinator. You got to know him before he became the head coach. What is your relationship with him and what was it like to hear that he was going to be taking over?
Carter Coughlin: I was really excited that he was taking over because he has been with Coach Kill as long as anybody, so there is a lot of those same principles that he is going to keep on incorporating in the team and those are the principles that I really liked and were a huge reason of why I committed just because I loved what the coaches believe in. I love how they treat their players and he is a genius and he is a great man, so I am really excited to play for him in the coming years.
Gopher Hole: What was the reaction though when you heard that Coach Kill was retiring?
Carter Coughlin: I was freaking out. It was kind of like a bad dream. I couldn’t even believe it was happening. I felt like I was going to wake up and it would all not be true, but it was. It was a shock to me, but it has all turned out all right and it will be all right in the end.
Gopher Hole: You started basketball recently. You had an outstanding team last year, which came up just short against Hopkins in the section finals. What are the expectations this season for you on the basketball court?
Carter Coughlin: Our team is going to have a shot to play in the state championship and win state. We have a lot of talent and it just depends on how hard we work, but I think that we are going to make it deep into the playoffs this year.