Lil Wayne’s eldest son is on a whole different type of beat—and it’s got nothing to do with rap. Dwayne Michael Carter III, born October 22, 2008, just made waves in his high school football debut, and this isn’t some celebrity kid coasting on his father’s name. This is a kid with a real leg, real accuracy, and real college offers.
Last Saturday, August 22nd, the 17-year-old placekicker’s team, the Gainesville Red Elephants, faced the Buford Wolves in their season opener with more than 12,000 fans packing the stadium and the game airing nationally on ESPN2. For Dwayne—who goes by Lil Tuney in the family—it was his first game in the red and white after transferring in from North Atlanta. And he came to work. He connected on a 35-yard field goal to give Gainesville a 3-0 lead, then hit a 25-yarder in the second quarter that pulled the Red Elephants within one point at 7-6. Clutch? Absolutely. Both kicks were money.
But here’s the thing: Gainesville still lost. Buford took a 10-6 lead into halftime, then scored three times in the third quarter to pull away en route to a 39-19 victory. The scoreboard didn’t tell Dwayne’s story though. Lil Wayne and Sarah Vivan were on the sidelines this past weekend supporting their son, watching him prove he’s not just carrying his father’s name—he’s writing his own narrative. After the game, Dwayne posted to Instagram: “Don’t let the score fool you, we’ll be back!” That’s the mindset of someone who knows he’s got bigger things coming.
And he does. Back in June, before a single high school game, he announced his first Division I football scholarship offer from Deion Sanders and Colorado. Not a prep school offer. Not a walk-on try-out. A full Division I scholarship from a Power Conference program under Coach Prime himself. He transferred in from North Atlanta and has also played soccer, which explains his consistency on the leg—soccer players often bring that precision to field goal work. Colorado lost its longtime kicker after last season and the Buffaloes are now looking for a replacement in Boulder, so the timing works. For a 17-year-old to be the answer to that question? That’s elite-level talent.
What’s wild is how different Dwayne’s path is from his father’s. He appeared on the song “Fl4m3$” from the No Ceilings 3 mixtape in 2020, giving fans a glimpse of his musical interests, but as the search results note, his focus has fully changed to football. Lil Wayne is a legend—a member of the hip-hop GOAT conversation, a mogul, a cultural force. But his son isn’t trying to follow those footsteps. He’s carving his own identity on the football field, and the college coaches are paying attention.
The 16BARS take: Lil Wayne’s kid is legitimate. A Colorado scholarship before senior year isn’t nepotism—that’s a kid with the range, precision, and poise to handle Power 5 football. The score doesn’t lie, but neither does 2-for-2 on prime-time ESPN against a national title contender. Dwayne Carter III is proving he’s more than just “Lil Wayne’s son.”
