West Virginia needed to add more experience and talent in the cornerback room this off-season and the commitment of Jacksonville State cornerback transfer Derek Carter helps there.
Carter, 5-foot-11, 185-pounds, committed to the Mountaineers after taking an official visit to campus with his teammate safety Fred Perry who also picked the Big 12 Conference program.
The Alabama native appeared in 35 games during his time with the Gamecocks across four seasons, one of which was a redshirt, and was productive on the field. During his time on the field, Carter recorded a total of 89 tackles, 10 passes defended and an interception.
That included the 2023 season where he recorded 44 tackles, 8 passes defended and 2 tackles for loss while earning second-team all-Conference USA honors in the process. This past year, Carter recorded 31 tackles, 2 passes defended and an interception.
Carter gives West Virginia the second transfer cornerback this off-season to commit to the program joining South Alabama nickel Jordan Scruggs. He also is the latest in a string of players that have followed head coach Rich Rodriguez from Jacksonville State including the aforementioned Perry along with wide receiver Cam Vaughn, wide receiver Jarod Bowie and tight end Jacob Barrick.
Carter has one season of eligibility remaining at the college level.
WVSports.com breaks down the transfer of Carter and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
The data:
Carter has played a total of 1,046 snaps over the course of the past three seasons and the majority of that at 876 has been spent as a true cornerback.
This past season, Carter played a total of 280 snaps and graded out at 66.3 according to Pro Football Focus posting a grade of 63.3 for his coverage.
Over his career he has been targeted a total of 76 times but allowed just 43 catches for 621 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. He also has 8 passes defended during that time.
This is an experienced cornerback that will help West Virginia add valuable depth at the spot.
Fitting the program:
Carter is a player that has already played under both Rich Rodriguez and defensive coordinator Zac Alley so the fact that he is following the pair to Morgantown speaks to how they evaluate this talent level to play against Big 12 level competition. There is an understanding of the defensive scheme and there won’t be any type of major adjustment in order to get himself acclimated for the move to West Virginia.
Carter joins a cornerback room that returns only six scholarship cornerbacks outside what has been added in the transfer portal and four of those will be either true or redshirt freshmen. The Mountaineers needed to get more experience and Carter is a player that has played for three years under Rodriguez.
This is a fit of both need and familiarity that should help West Virginia in the cornerback room in the first year under Rodriguez as he looks to rebuild the roster.
Recruiting the position:
Scruggs is a different type of cornerback in the sense that he likely fills a role as a nickel, while Carter is more of an outside option. That means that you can expect West Virginia to add several more players to the mix by the time the dust settles at the cornerback spot, so the coaching staff won’t have to rely on youth.
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