Carter's breakout was a long time coming

The Panthers were set to face Clemson in that season’s ACC Championship Game, and they had gotten to Bank of America Stadium by running the ball more - and more successfully - than any other team in Pitt history.

Powered by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers and some epic single-game performances, the Panthers were a rushing powerhouse; that’s what Carter and Vincent Davis, who formed a thunder-and-lightning duo in Pitt’s 2019 recruiting class, were looking to join.

By the time Carter got on campus, though, the Panthers’ approach had changed. Gone was Shawn Watson, the offensive coordinator who called all of those rushing plays; in his place was Mark Whipple, and to call the new offense “pass-heavy” is putting it lightly.

Pitt’s quarterbacks attempted nearly 1,500 passes in Whipple’s three years with the Panthers, and while that led to great success on the field, including an 11-win season and an ACC championship, it didn’t exactly create a lot of opportunities for the running backs.

In 2022, Frank Cignetti replaced Whipple and brought a renewed focus on the rushing attack. But what should have been Carter’s real chance to break through turned into the Israel Abanikanda show, as Abanikanda ran for 1,431 yards, led the nation in rushing touchdowns and broke Tony Dorsett’s Pitt single-game rushing record.

That was great for Abanikanda and for the Panthers, but for Carter, it meant another season of minimal involvement.

In 2023, he opened the season with the best game of his career, carrying the ball 11 times (a career high) for 65 yards (also a career high) and the fifth rushing touchdown of his career. He added one more rushing touchdown in a loss to North Carolina, but he carried the ball just seven times in the final eight games.

And yet, Carter returned to Pitt for a sixth year. Undeterred by his lack of usage, the former St. Thomas Aquinas standout opted for one more go with the Panthers, even though they also brought back Rodney Hammond and added Western Carolina transfer Desmond Reid.

On Saturday, in Pitt’s non-conference finale against Youngstown State, the opportunity finally came. With Hammond ineligible for the season and Reid resting, Carter and redshirt junior Derrick Davis were the primary ball-carriers, and Carter responded with the most productive game of his career:

Seven carries, 109 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns and one reception for 13 yards and a touchdown.

“It definitely feels amazing,” Carter said after the game. “I feel like I’ve been trying to wait on this point for six years now to finally get my opportunity. So I told you, when my number was called, I was going to make a play. I was going to take advantage of every opportunity, and that’s what I did today.”

To say Carter’s breakout game was a long-time coming is an understatement. Saturday was his 67th game in a Pitt uniform, and he came into it with 70 career rushing attempts.

“I'm happy for Daniel,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said after Saturday’s game. “He deserves that. He's a selfless man. He's been on the punt team for three years. He does a heck of a job as our personal protector, makes all the calls on our punt team. For him to get the ball and go out and make plays, I was happy for him.”

Eli Holstein has been at Pitt for a fraction of the time that Carter has. But despite joining the roster in January, the redshirt freshman quarterback has developed an appreciation for one of the oldest players on the team.

“I was so happy for him,” Holstein said. “D.C.’s been a great leader on this team. He’s been here for awhile so he knows the ups and downs of the past couple years. He’s stuck through it and the hard work that he’s put in, he was out there and had seven rushes for a hundred and some yards; I think that was his most rushing yards he’s had in a game. Just a good game for a really good guy, which we all really appreciate.”

Carter’s role going forward remains to be seen. While Hammond won’t be back this season, Reid will be available for Pitt’s trip to North Carolina after the off week. But Davis left the Youngstown State game with an injury, so his status could be up in the air, leaving Carter as the top option to be Reid’s backup.

If that’s what Carter’s role becomes, he’ll approach it like he has approached his role since he got to Pitt nearly six year ago. He’s one of just a few sixth-year seniors on the roster - players who have seen Pitt experience an ACC championship, a 3-9 season and just about everything in between.

“Coming in with those guys, we worked for six years to finally get our opportunity now. I feel like the sky’s the limit for us. It’s our last year of football, so I wouldn’t say we have nothing to lose, but we’re working. It’s our last year, we’ve got so much to prove, we’ve got so much to give.”