ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — DeWayne Carter made his first NFL start for the Bills last Sunday, and the rookie is quick to credit everyone around him for helping him shine when his moment arrived.

“Honestly, the coolest part for me has been being around my teammates, right?” Carter said after practice on Wednesday. “The constant uplift and encouraging me, just telling me, ‘I see something in you. You can do this. This is how you can do this better though. This is how you can improve.’ So, ultimately when that time came for me to get more and more reps, whenever that was, I’d be ready.”

Filling in for an injured Ed Oliver, Carter played the most snaps of any Bills defensive tackle and recorded three tackles. While he was impressive in his effort, he’s still searching for that first NFL sack.

“It’s held true at every single level for me, I always have a plan for my first sack," he said. "And I get the sack and I get up and I just go insane — screaming, kicking, yelling, flexing, whatever it is. So I’m hoping I can keep calm and keep cool so I can do my celebration, but if it comes out, it comes out. It just is what it is."

Carter brings a passionate ferocity to the field.

“I like to hit people. Hands in the face," he said. "I’m quick. And I’m sneaky fast too."

But that’s only a fraction of what makes this man. In college, he was the first and only three-year team captain at Duke University.

“I think my teammates viewed me as the ultimate teammate,” he said. “And I think that’s the thing that means the most to me. That guys know they can come to me [and] they can rely on me to talk to them. And it wasn’t just always ball. Those are my friends, like real friends to this day.”

So where does that leadership ability come from?

For Carter, it started when he was young, often playing sports with older kids. It’s also something his parents and family impressed upon him from an early age. His grandfather, father and two uncles all played college football at high levels — providing a road map for how to do things the right way.

“Obviously, my family pedigree is what it is,” Carter said. “A long line of football players, so it’s almost like it was destiny, right?”

Destiny is what Carter felt about coming to Buffalo, even before he was drafted in the 3^rd round last April. It’s a place with a culture in the organization and the community that he truly believes in.

Carter has been heavily involved in volunteer activities throughout his football career, especially involving youth and education while he was in college at Duke. It’s something he hopes to continue as a professional in his new home city of Buffalo.

“I know it’s not my time to be a captain on this team or whatever else yet, but I want to learn how I can lead in my own right,” he said. “And the goal is to help this team win as many games as possible.”