The up-and-down (mostly down) collegiate career of Duron Carter has apparently come to an end.
FAU head coach Carl Pelini confirmed to OwlReport.com Saturday that the mercurial wide receiver has left the football program. The website went on to write that "[i]t is believed that Carter will make himself eligible for the upcoming NFL draft.”
Neither the player nor anyone connected to the redshirt junior have confirmed the report, although leaving college in the rear-view is likely the wisest tack to take.
The Owls were the fourth collegiate stop for Carter, son of former star NFL receiver Cris Carter, the past three years, with academics serving as a significant hurdle at nearly every one of them.
Carter was declared academically ineligible for Ohio State’s appearance in the Rose Bowl game following the 2009 regular season, an issue that also kept him out of spring practice in 2010. He left the Buckeyes in June of that year and enrolled at a junior college in Kansas.
After transferring to Alabama in April of 2011 from the JUCO ranks, eligibility issues again involving academics kept him from practicing with the Tide until late August. It was announced in late September of 2011 that Carter would not play at all that season and would instead take a redshirt. He was suspended for spring practice this year, which prompted him to take his leave of Tuscaloosa and officially transfer to FAU.
An appeal for a hardship waiver that would’ve granted him immediate eligibility was denied in mid-September. OwlReport.com writes that, after that decision, Carter “worked with the scout team for part of the season but in the final weeks of the season, was given permission to miss practice to concentrate on school work.”
The 6-5, 205-pound Carter was a four-star member of the Buckeyes’ 2009 recruiting class, rated by Rivals.com as the No. 11 receiver in the country. As a true freshman, he caught 13 passes for 176 yards. Apparently, those will be the only catches he makes at the FBS level; whether he can catch on at the NFL level -- likely as an undrafted free agent -- remains to be seen.