Pitt junior running back Daniel Carter rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries in Saturday’s Blue-Gold game as he lined up for both teams. He also caught a pass for nine yards and finished the day with the only two touchdowns of the game.

His performance stole the show in the Pitt spring game, and it came hours after he was named the Ed Conway Award winner on offense, given annually to the team’s most improved player in the spring. The Blue-Gold game showing did nothing but reinforce that Carter was well deserving of the honor.

Carter had played sparingly in his first three seasons at Pitt. He was at one time a four-star recruit and starred for Florida prep powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas. But in three years for the Panthers, he has only rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns. He was moved into more of a fullback role last season, but showed throughout spring ball that he can perhaps be more than that.

“Definitely being versatile and showing that I can block and run the ball and pass block and definitely getting the offense down pat,” Carter said of what he wanted to focus on heading into this spring. “That was really a big step for me and showing the coaches they can trust me with the ball in my hands.”

Getting the offense down was likely an advantage for Carter. Pitt returns three backs in Izzy Abanikanda, Vincent Davis, and Rodney Hammond that all rushed for over 500 yards a season ago, but with a new offensive coordinator this year in Frank Cignetti all of the offensive players had a new system to learn and Carter grasped it quickly.

“I think I feel more comfortable," Carter said in Pitt's new offensive system. "I feel like I kind of caught on like really fast.”

His teammates have noticed, too. Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis is currently fighting for the starting job with Nick Patti. Slovis transferred from USC to Pitt in part because of the offensive talent the Panthers were returning, but he admitted Carter was someone he was not aware of too much, but is now.

“He’s been super impressive,” Slovis said of the Panthers junior back. “He’s picked up so much, we can put him anywhere… The more you can pick up and more you can handle, the more you’re able to do and more you’ll be on the field.”

During Saturday’s spring game, Carter was all over the field. With Hammond being held out and Abanikanda and Davis being limited, it was Carter that got to make an impression to everyone and he delivered with his performance.

“He can carry the ball, he can hurt you out of the backfield in the pass game,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said of Carter. “He can do a lot of different things. He’s been playing at a high level, which is good. He’s a hard guy to tackle. He’s 240 pounds rolling downhill.”

Carter still may be in line to play more fullback this season. He admitted it took time to adjust to that role as a blocker after being a star back in high school, but he has also taken to that job as well.

“I mean it was definitely some adjustments because I’m used to carrying the ball and not used to blocking,” Carter explained. "So I think this spring really helped a lot and Coach (Andre) Powell is always on me about using my hands and finish blocks and stuff like that. Definitely, I got kind of accustomed to it.”

Carter said he believes Pitt will run the ball more than it has in his first three seasons. The Panthers found they had three capable backs in the 2021 season, but perhaps found a fourth this spring.