Lopez who grew up in Venezuela and moved to the United States at 11, grew up playing soccer and used those skills when he started playing American football as a special teams player at Seymour High School. Lopez earned a football scholarship as a kicker at Carson-Newman, graduating early, finishing his playing career at Middle Tennessee State University, and receiving a master's degree. He played professionally in the Arena Football League for the Tampa Bay Storm before returning to Tennessee and earning a second master's degree in World Language at Tennessee in 2015.
Carlos is the first ever Spanish broadcaster for Tennessee Athletics.