Quinton Carter (born July 20, 1988) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, 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 ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

, earning consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 2010. He was selected by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

in the fourth round of 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 ...

Early life

Carter was born in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. Growing up in the inner-city of

North Las Vegas North Las Vegas is a suburban city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 262,527, with an estimated population of 280,543 in 2022. The city was incorporated on May 1, 1946 ...

, Carter attended Cheyenne High School where he played the

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 ...

position in football, throwing for 650-plus yards and eight

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

during a regular season. He ran for more than 400 yards and earned all-league honors in his junior year. Considered one of the area's top football and basketball players at Cheyenne, Carter is a member of the Las Vegas Sun's all-decade high school football team.Brewer, Ray
"Oklahoma’s Quinton Carter returns to Las Vegas to host football camp"
''Las Vegas Sun''. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-01.

College career

Carter attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, where he played for coach

Bob Stoops Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through ...

Oklahoma Sooners football The Oklahoma Sooners football team represents the University of Oklahoma (OU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The program began in 1895 and is one of the most succ ...

team from 2006 to 2010. In 2006, Carter played on Oklahoma's

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 ...

unit in only five games. He became one of the secondary's most physical players and earned one tackle against the

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of the American Athletic Conference and participates in Divisi ...

. In 2007, Carter redshirted. The 2008 season allowed Carter to start for two games at safety, collecting 10 tackles in his first career start against

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. He broke up passes playing against

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, acquired five tackles against

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

, and in his second start at the

Big 12 Championship Game The Big 12 Championship Game is a college football game held by the Big 12 Conference between the best and the second-best Big 12 team. The game was played each year since the conference's formation in 1996 until 2010 and returned during the 201 ...

, Carter had eight tackles that resulted in a Big 12 Championship. He led the team with fourteen solo special teams tackles and was third on the team for the same number of special teams tackles. In 2009, Carter was named All-Big 12 second team by coaches and had an honorable mention by the AP. In this standout year, he started at free safety with eighty stops, becoming the team's second-leading tackler, and tied his career-high ten tackles against both BYU and

. Carter recovered a fumble during the BYU game, broke up two passes playing Kansas, and picked off passes against

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

, Kansas, and Kansas State. In the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

win over Stanford, Carter collected eight tackles and one interception. He ended the season with 88 tackles and four interceptions, placing him on the 2010 Jim Thorpe Watch List, the 2010 All-Big 12 team, and as a nominee for the Lowe's Senior Class Award.

Professional career

Carter was selected with the 108th pick in the

by the

. In the 2011 NFL Season Carter became the Broncos' starting safety next to

Brian Dawkins Brian Patrick Dawkins Sr. (born October 13, 1973), nicknamed "Weapon X", is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played ...

, ahead of 2nd round draft pick

Rahim Moore Rahim Shaheed Moore (born February 11, 1990) is an American professional football safety. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, earning first-team All-American honors. He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2 ...

. He would also intercept

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

in the Broncos' wild card victory over the Steelers, as well as

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

in the divisional round loss. On September 29, 2012 he was placed on Injured Reserve.

NFL statistics

Personal life

When Carter is not playing football, he spends his time doing charity projects. In 2008, he started Serving Others through Unity and Leadership (SOUL) to help kids in need through football camps and other programs. He also maintains that he does not play video games, which gives him the time to help others. Additionally, Carter has been named to the 2010 Allstate AFCA Good Works team for his work in the community. On March 9, 2013, Carter was arrested and charged with three acts of fraudulent act in a gaming establishment. Officials at

Texas Station Texas Station was a casino hotel in North Las Vegas, Nevada. It was owned and operated by Station Casinos. Texas native Frank Fertitta Jr., the hotel-casino's original owner, chose the Texas theme to appeal to customers from his home state. Fe ...

alleged that he added money to his wagers after the dice has been rolled in craps. He faced a potential 18 years in prison. The charges were ultimately dropped. In 2017, Carter opened Big Jerk, a Caribbean restaurant, in Las Vegas. It began as a food truck in 2017 and became a restaurant in 2018. It now has multiple locations in Vegas.

References

External links

Oklahoma Sooners bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Quinton 1988 births Living people All-American college football players American football safeties Denver Broncos players Oklahoma Sooners football players Players of American football from Las Vegas American restaurateurs Restaurant founders 21st-century African-American businesspeople