INKED: DB V'Lique Carter signs with Pitt

V'Lique Carter became the 14th recruit to sign to Pitt in the 2018 recruiting class when he faxed in his National Letter of Intent on the early signing day, joining his classmates in making his commitment it official. Carter is a 5-foot-10, 165-pound safety out of West Palm Beach (Fla.) Oxbridge Academy. Here's a brief look back at his journey as a recruit and his history with Pitt:

First mention on Rivals: While Carter had attended the Rivals Camp Series event in southern Florida and collected offers from programs like Pitt, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kentucky, and Purdue, he didn't really pop up on the Rivals radar until he took an official visit to Iowa State on October 13th. Carter's trip to check out the Cyclones' program resulted in Iowa State being named as his co-favorite.

Carter commits to Iowa State: Around a month after taking an official visit to Iowa State, Carter announced his commitment to the Cyclones on November 15th, a decision he says had actually occurred a couple weeks prior... “I’ve been committed for a couple weeks, but just never posted it,” Carter said. “I wanted to wait and announce it on the same day as one of my former teammates. I’m excited and my mom is excited. There’s a lot of energy and good vibes.”

Carter flips to Pitt: Just a month after committing to Iowa State, Carter decided to re-evaluate his decision and flipped from Iowa State to Pittsburgh shortly following an official visit to campus on the weekend of December 15th. Carter was around a group of other targets for Pitt and claimed the final reminding defensive back spot in Pitt's 2018 recruiting ahead of Georgia cornerback Rashad Ajayi.

In his words: “I was really just there to check it out and see what it was like. But the feeling it gave me, it made me feel like I didn’t want to go back home. It just felt great... Pitt just gave me a great feeling,” Carter said “I really liked the city and I really liked the history of the city. And I like the coaches; they’re very genuine. And also how the Steelers are pretty much related to them. They’re right next to each other, and that’s motivation. There’s a lot of perks to Pitt.”

Carter's impact: "Carter has been recruited by both Pitt and Iowa State as a cornerback, but it seems more likely that he'll find a role at the next level as a field safety. Carter has impressive closing speed and his ability to explode to the fact is likely his best asset in coverage. It makes Carter a threat to blow up plays in the flat, to intercept the ball when playing centerfield, and to take away the edges of the field as an option for all but the most strong-armed and accurate quarterbacks. Carter possesses both acceleration and long speed in spades and will immediately upgrade the athleticism of Pitt's secondary." Check out more on his impact here.