Carter attended Pennsylvania State University, where he was a standout player for coach Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 1992 to 1994, along with a strong group of offensive players including future NFL startersJeff Hartings, Joe Jurevicius, Kerry Collins, O.J. McDuffie, Bobby Engram and Kyle Brady. Together, this explosive offense propelled the 1994 Penn State team to a 12–0 undefeated season. At Penn State Carter wore the number 32, which had been worn by running back Blair Thomas. Despite playing only three seasons, he is still in the top ten among Penn State running backs, having compiled 2,829 yards rushing on 395 attempts and scoring 34 touchdowns. His best single game came against the Michigan State Spartans in 1994, when he rushed for 227 yards on 27 carries and scored five touchdowns. Carter helped lead the 1994 Penn State football team to an undefeated record and a berth in the Rose Bowl, was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting. He earned co-MVP honors in the Rose Bowl, rushing for 156 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. He ran for an 83-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game, which is the third-longest run in Rose Bowl history and the longest run in Penn State bowl history. Carter also added touchdown runs of 17 and three yards in the third quarter. The Rose Bowl was Carter's final game as a Nittany Lion, as he was encouraged by Paterno to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. "This is the first time I have told anybody who has not graduated that I felt they ought to leave," Paterno said. The Tournament of Roses Association announced his induction into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2014, a ceremony that took place in December 2014.
Professional career
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Carter with the first overall pick of the 1995 NFL Draft, and he played for the Bengals from to. They acquired the first pick in a trade with the expansion Carolina Panthers. Carter signed a seven-year, $19.2 million deal which included a $7.125 million signing bonus, which at the time was an NFL record contract for a rookie. There were also incentive clauses such as making an extra $100,000 if he scored 12 touchdowns in a season. He played for the Washington Redskins in 2001, and the New Orleans Saints from 2003 to 2004. In seven NFL seasons, he played in 59 games, started 14 of them, and compiled 1,144 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on 319 attempts, and 66 receptions for 469 yards and a touchdown. In 2002, Carter was cut by the Green Bay Packers when they trimmed their roster down to 65 players.
Injuries
Often considered a "bust" by media given where he was drafted, Carter was beset with injuries from his rookie season on. Carter tore a ligament in his knee on his third carry of his first preseason game of his rookie year, and never fully recovered. He missed the entire 1995 season. In 1997, he suffered a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder with fears that he would miss the entire season. In 1998, he missed the entire season after breaking his left wrist in a game against the Tennessee Oilers. In 1999, he again missed the entire season after dislocating his right kneecap in a game against the Carolina Panthers.
Life after football
Carter is now an entrepreneur and sports blogger at OPENSports.com. He founded Byoglobe, a sanitation technology company specializing in disinfection of MRSA-prone facilities, in 2008. He serves as the Sunrise, Florida-based company's chief executive officer.
