Kahlil Rafiq Carter, (born September 13, 1976) is an American former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

player and coach. Carter has been a professional gridiron football player in 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 ...

(AFL),

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

, and the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). His last season of professional football was spent playing

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the AFL for 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 ...

in 2010. Carter has also spent time in NFL Europe with the

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores, were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, ...

. Carter also was a defensive back in the CFL with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

and the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

. Carter has also coached in the CFL for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

from 2015-2017 as their defensive backs coach, and served as a scout for the

in 2018.

College football

From 1994 to 1997, Carter walked-on to the University of Arkansas' football team. He began his university career as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

before making the transition to

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. In 1998, Carter transferred to

Southern Arkansas University Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas, United States. The university had an enrollment of 5,100 undergraduate and graduate students as of fall 2023. History Southern Arkansas University was established ...

where he led the Muleriders in

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles.

Professional football career

Arena Football

In 2000, Carter signed with the

Arkansas Twisters Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma to the ...

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

. He rotated between QB, WR, DB, LB and became the first player in team history to be signed to a professional contract (AFL). Completed 16–25 passes for 201 yards and 6 touchdowns while catching 10 passes for 165 yards and 5 touchdowns. Also recorded 25 tackles 2 ints, and 11 pbu's. In 2001, Carter was signed by the Milwaukee Mustangs of the

(AFL). He went on to play all 14 regular season games with the team recording 35 catches for 364 yards and 6 touchdowns to go along with 24 tackles, two knockdowns, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble on defense. Carter also saw time at QB and completed four of four passes and two touchdowns. Named teams rookie of the year and a reserve on the AFL all-Rookie team. In 2002, Carter was acquired by the

Toronto Phantoms The Toronto Phantoms were a professional arena football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team also previously operated in New York Ci ...

(AFL) in the 2002

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...

, & recorded 17 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery, and two knockdowns, catching 10 passes for 119 yards and one touchdown that season. In 2003, Carter attended training camp with the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

(AFL), but ultimately returned to the Arkansas Twisters (af2) and set an af2 league record with 14 interceptions in 14 games (16 interceptions in 17 games including playoffs) and was named af2 Defensive Player of the Year. In 2004, Carter signed with the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

of the AFL to complement all-time great Kenny McEntyre. In 2005, Carter was acquired by Nashville Katz (AFL) in 2005 dispersement draft and would go on to record 70 tackles, 7 INT (second most in the AFL) and one forced fumble with Nashville. He was also named Second-Team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

at corner and safety. In 2006, Carter was a pre-season all-arena selection for the Katz & was also named AFL Defensive Player of the Week on February 28 after posting 11 tackles, 2 pass break-ups and an interception in a Katz victory. Carter was later acquired by the

(AFL) who would go on to advance to ArenaBowl XX. During the playoff drive, Carter was also named Defensive Player of the Week in Conference Championship vs Dallas for recording 2 INT, one for a TD. The Predators would go on to lose ArenaBowl XX 69-61, but Carter would record the longest touchdown run in ArenaBowl history (36 yards). In 2007, Carter was named to the af2 anniversary team and voted the #2 defensive specialist in af2 history. Carter also had his #9 jersey retired by the

of the af2. In 2008, Carter attended training camp with the Kansas City Brigade (AFL) after being traded from the

(AFL) in exchange for DB Kenny McEntyre. He played in two preseason games and recorded interceptions in both before sustaining a season ending shoulder injury. In 2010, Carter served as player/coach and team captain for the

of the new

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

. At age 34, Carter was one of only 3 players with AFL experience on a very young Barnstormer team. Khalil appeared in all 16 games and finished with 85 tackles, 5 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries, and 17 pass breakups. After the season, Carter announced his retirement as a player and was hired to coach the secondary at Graceland University in southern Iowa.

Canadian football

In 2005, Carter joined the

of the

(CFL). In his rookie season, he played in 1 game & recorded 3 tackles. In 2006, Carter re-joined the Argonauts in week 2 after playing in ArenaBowl XX for the

championship. He would go on to play in 12 games, starting seven at DB and CB, also saw time at LB and on ST. He would go on to establish career highs in defensive tackles, interceptions and interception return yards that season & moed into a third place tie with LB Don Wilson on the Argos’ all-time single season interception yards list with 184. Carter also placed tied for 3rd all-time on Argo's consecutive games with an interception list with 3. Week 7, recorded his first-ever CFL interception (03/08/06) and returned it 84-yards for a TD. In 2007, Carter dressed for all 18 regular season games rotating in the Toronto Argonauts' secondary, starting 6 at DB and CB, finishing the season with 3 interceptions and two defensive touchdowns. He was named player of the week on Sept 13 for a 7 tackle performance which included an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown against

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. In 2008, Carter entered training camp with the

replacing

Jordan Younger Jordan Younger (born January 24, 1978) is the defensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is also a former professional defensive back and played for nine years in the CFL where he won two Grey C ...

at boundary corner recording 3 tackles, 1 pass break up and 1 interception in the preseason game versus

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Carter was released by the Argonauts after training camp & signed with the Montreal Alouettes in July. In four regular season games, Carter recorded 7 tackles, 2 interceptions & 1 defensive touchdown (50 yds.) and 5 pass break ups. In the East Final versus Edmonton, Carter recorded 5 tackles & 4 pass break ups. In the

96th Grey Cup The 96th Grey Cup was held in Montreal, Quebec at Olympic Stadium on November 23, 2008. The East Division champion Montreal Alouettes hosted the West Division champion Calgary Stampeders. The Stampeders won the game 22–14, with quarterback Hen ...

, Carter recorded a game high 8 tackles which was the 3rd most tackles in a game in Grey Cup history.

American football

in 2004, Carter was signed by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

of the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

and allocated to the

, leading the team in special team tackles. He recorded 28 tackles, 3 pass breakups, 2 force fumbles and 1 blocked field goal while captaining one of the stingiest secondaries in NFL Europe history. Carter went on to attend training camp with the Buffalo Bills before sustaining a season ending sports hernia.

Coaching career

Arena Football

Carter began his coaching career as a player/coach in 2007 as Pass Game and Special Teams Coordinator for the

of the

while still an active player in the

(CFL). In 2010, he also served as a player/coach with the

of the

(AFL). As a defensive back and team captain, Carter assisted with their weekly game-plan preparation and their player personnel. Coach Carter captained the Barnstormers 3rd ranked scoring defense also finishing 1st against the run. For the second season under coach Carter's watch, one of his players ( Tanner Varner) broke the league tackling record with 146 tackles. Under Carter's watch Jason Simpson also broke the AF2 record in 2007 for the Arkansas Twisters with 145. Both were rookies and recorded at least 8 interceptions as well. In the spring of 2011, Carter served as defensive coordinator for the Trenton Steel of the

Southern Indoor Football League The Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) was an indoor football league based in the Southern and Eastern United States. The most recent incarnation of the league was a consolidation of an earlier league of the same name that was formed by Thom ...

College football

In 2010, Carter took his first collegiate coaching position as a volunteer assistant and Secondary and coach at

Graceland University Graceland University is a private university with campuses in Lamoni, Iowa, and Independence, Missouri. The university offers degree completion and master's degree programs. It also offers undergraduate and graduate programs online. The univers ...

for the

Graceland Yellowjackets The Graceland Yellowjackets are the athletic teams that represent Graceland University, located in Lamoni, Iowa, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the H ...

of the

Heart of America Athletic Conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...

. In July 2012, Carter was named the cornerbacks coach for the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

Drake Bulldogs football The Drake Bulldogs are an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision non-scholarship college football program representing Drake University. They currently compete in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League and have been charter member ...

team. In his first season on the staff, he helped coach a pass defense that ranked second in the

Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I Fo ...

by allowing just 185 passing yards per game. That year Drake won a share of the Pioneer Football League Conference Championship. In 2013, Carter helped coach Drake to the #1 ranked defense in the Pioneer Football League, producing a 2nd team All Conference Corner in Brad Duwe under his tutelage.

Canadian football

In 2014, Carter served as a guest coach for the Grey Cup champion, Saskatchewan Roughriders. From 2015 to 2017, Carter was named as the defensive backs coach for the

of the

. Calgary finished with the #1 s doing défense and pass defense all 3 seasons reaching back to back Grey Cups in 2016 and 2017. On January 3, 2018, Carter was named the defensive coordinator for the

of the

, but on May 18, 2018, Carter resigned from the position for personal reasons, and was reassigned as a team scout.

FXFL

In 2014, Carter signed on to coach the secondary for the

FXFL Blacktips The Florida Blacktips were a professional American football team, operating as a traveling team. They were a charter member of the Fall Experimental Football League, which was trying to become the developmental league for the National Football L ...

of the newly formed FXFL which later became

The Spring League The Spring League (TSL) was an American football Minor league football (gridiron), developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional football (gridiron), p ...

High school football

In 2011, Carter coached cornerbacks at Valley High School in West Des Moines during its 2011 state 4A championship season. In 2014, Carter rejoined West Des Moines Valley High School, upset #1 ranked Dowling Catholic, and finished #1 in the state. Carter coached for Valley High School again in 2019 and 2020 reaching another State championship in 2019 with a perfect 13-0 record. The 2020 season was cut short due to COVID in the semi-finals of the playoffs.

European League of Football

On October 11, 2022, Carter was named as the head coach and defensive coordinator of the Cologne Centurions of the

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football sports league, league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2 ...

. On March 17, 2023, Carter and the Centurions parted ways.

Personal life

Though born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Carter was raised in

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, where he graduated from

Little Rock Central High School Little Rock Central High School (LRCH) is an accredited comprehensive education, comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, Secondary education in the United States, United States. The school was the Little ...

. He graduated in 2000 from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and a

minor Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...

in French. In August 2014, Carter graduated with

Pi Alpha Alpha Pi Alpha Alpha ( or PAA) is an international honor society for students of public administration. It was founded and is administered by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. The organization was formed to prom ...

honors receiving a Master of Public Administration from

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. Carter is one of the founding members of the ABH chapter of the

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1914. The fraternity's founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, wanted to ...

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

, and has over 10 years experience in youth counseling and mentoring. Carter is married to his wife Courtney, and has 4 daughters, Briana, Brooklyn, Mya, and Belize.

References

External links

*
ProFootballArchives CFL stats

CFL.ca stats

ArenaFan.com AFL stats

Graceland University profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Khalil 1976 births American football defensive backs American football wide receivers Arkansas Razorbacks football players Arkansas Twisters players Calgary Stampeders coaches Canadian football defensive backs Coaches of American football from Arkansas Coaches of American football from Washington, D.C. Drake Bulldogs football coaches Drake University alumni Graceland Yellowjackets football coaches High school football coaches in Iowa Iowa Barnstormers players Kansas City Brigade players Living people Montreal Alouettes players Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001) players Nashville Kats players Orlando Predators players Players of American football from Arkansas Players of American football from Des Moines, Iowa Players of American football from Washington, D.C. Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches Scottish Claymores players Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Southern Arkansas Muleriders football players Texas Revolution coaches Toronto Argonauts players Toronto Phantoms players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen