Darnell Jarod Carter (born November 27, 1987) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Early life

Carter attended

Dwight Morrow High School Dwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from ...

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

where he participated in both football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. As member of the football team, Carter played both

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and linebacker. Carter committed to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

on September 12, 2005. Carter was not heavily recruited, receiving FBS scholarships from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, as well as one FCS scholarship from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

College career

Carter attended the

, where he played as a member of the football team from 2006-2007, and 2009-2010. Carter missed the 2008 season when he was academically suspended.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

, Carter was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the 114th-best inside linebacker in the draft. He was not invited to the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, he posted the following numbers during his Virginia pro-day workouts:

Iowa Barnstomers

Carter was assigned the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well". Sever ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

during the 2012 season. Carter re-signed with the Barnstormers for the 2013 season. On April 19, 2013, Carter scored his first professional touchdown, returning a Bernard Morris fumble for a touchdown. After the 2013 season, Carter was named the Barnstormers' Special Teams Player of the Year. Carter was assigned to the Barnstormers again on January 2, 2014.

Arizona Rattlers

On February 17, 2014, Carter was traded to the

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

in exchange for Cody Johnson.

Jacksonville Sharks

On March 1, 2014, Carter was traded to the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. They were members of the Are ...

for future considerations.

Return to Iowa

On May 28, 2014, Carter was traded back to Iowa for future considerations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Darnell 1987 births Living people Virginia Cavaliers football players Iowa Barnstormers players Arizona Rattlers players Jacksonville Sharks players Dwight Morrow High School alumni Players of American football from Englewood, New Jersey