Daniel Carter Career-Best Performance was a Long Time Coming

Since running back Daniel Carter enrolled at Pitt, he has played under three offensive coordinators and felt the highs of an ACC championship and the lows of a 3-9 season.

Over the years, Carter has been leaned on as a depth power back who has played behind a fair share of talented running backs. It was a long time coming, but in his 54th game as a Panther, the sixth-year senior broke out against Youngstown State, running for 109 yards with two lengthy touchdown runs.

“It feels amazing,” Carter said following the win. “I feel like I’ve been trying to wait on this point for six years now to finally get my opportunity. I told you when my number was called, I was going to make a play and take advantage of every opportunity.”

On top of his two touchdown dashes, redshirt freshman Eli Holstein hit Carter out of the backfield for a 13-yard touchdown reception.

“I was so happy for him,” Holstein said. “DC’s been a great leader on this team. He’s been here for a while, so he knows the ups and downs of the past couple years. A guy that’s stuck through it and the hard work that he’s put in.”

Saturday was a career day for Carter in multiple ways. In the first quarter, Carter took off on a 24-yard touchdown run up the middle, which set a career-long run. That record did not last long, however, as Carter turned on the jets for a 43-yard score in the second quarter.

His 109 rushing yards crushed his previous single-game career-high of 65 yards last season against Wofford. It also comes as his first multi-touchdown game of his career.

“Just making plays that I haven’t really had the opportunity to show in the past couple of years that I’ve been here,” Carter said. “It’s also nice for me, I’m trying to get my confidence back. To know that I can go in there and make plays, I was definitely proud of the way I handle things.”

DANIEL CARTER HAD A DAY 🔥

😈 7 Carries
🔥 109 Yards
🙌 3 TOT TD #HailToPitt x @KING__CARTER5 pic.twitter.com/pZx3U8CBNB

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 21, 2024

Carter is one of four players — Brandon George, Jason Collier and Nate Temple — that have stuck out their six-year collegiate careers with the Panthers, making Saturday’s performance that much more meaningful.

“I’m happy for Daniel,” head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “He deserves that. He’s a selfless man. He’s been on the punt team for three years. He does a heck of a job as our personal protector, makes all the calls on our punt team. For him to get the ball and go out and make plays, I was happy for him.”

Throughout fall camp, Carter’s footwork looked quicker with his speed enhanced and that was noticeable against the Penguins. A lot of that had to do with slimming down during the offseason.

“I always say I have another gear, but definitely losing weight, I got down to 215, 220 now. Definitely feel a lot better than the past couple of years where I weighed 240.”

“I always knew if I was in open field no one was going to catch me and that’s my mindset every time,” Carter added.

Pittsburgh Panthers running back Daniel Carter (4) September 21. 2024 Photo by David Hague/PSN

As Carter displayed his speed on the ground, he has also been a target out of the backfield, which is something different this season for the veteran from Margate, Fla.

“The difference is we catch balls out of the backfield. We not just sitting here when we drop back we in pass protection, we actually getting out and running routes,” Carter said.

Pitt’s running back room features one of the top all-purpose backs in the country in Desmond Reid, but the Western Carolina transfer was held out against YSU. That opened up opportunities for Derrick Davis Jr. and Carter to showcase the depth that Pitt has in the backfield.

“It’s great. You can’t really contest the one person, so you got to account for all of us. We got a lot of playmakers in the room, too. Not just me and Des, but also D. Davis and some of the younger guys, too. You see Che [Nwabuko] got in there and broke off a [57-yd] run. It’s always awesome that we have so many guys that can make plays in the backfield, so I feel like we got a special room. Our room is also really tight, so we always push each other every day.”

In his final season of college football, Carter will be a steady presence on the Pitt offense. Regardless of how many touches he receives, Carter will be prepared.

“That’s every week, us being prepared and us being ready to go when our numbers called. We knew Des wasn’t going to play today at kickoff. Me and Derrick worked all offseason, every day, two times a day, footwork, catching, doing all this different stuff, so we was always ready.”