NC State exited the spring wanting to beef up its secondary and landed its third safety transfer Monday.
Former Syracuse and Ohio State rising senior safety Ja’Had Carter joins Akron transfer K.J. Martin and Auburn transfer Donovan Kaufman in a re-worked secondary. Carter officially visited Wednesday and Thursday last week.
NC State previously had landed Maryland cornerback Corey Coley, Maryland nickel Tamarcus Cooley and Villanova defensive back Devon Marshall. NC State now has 13 players for the safety/nickel positions, though perhaps at least one could move to cornerback, which has six players (five if Marshall plays nickel).
The 6-foot-1, 203-pound Carter played at Richmond (Va.) Henrico High for four years, and was expected to play at Virginia Tech in the class of 2019. The former Rivals.com three-star prospect picked the Hokies over offers from Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Syracuse, on Sept. 24, 2017.
Carter ended up needing to attend Jireh Prep for a post-graduate year in Matthews, N.C., and he became a member of the class of 2020. The second time around he picked Syracuse and he was able to make an immediate impact, starting 10 of 11 games his freshman year.
Carter had his best year in 2020, racking up up 65 tackles, one forced fumble, three passes defended and two interceptions. He had picks against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech, with the later where he lateralled the football to teammate Trill Williams for a touchdown. He had nine tackles against the Tigers.
Carter also continues the trend of many of NC State transfers, who were once opponents. He had 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and one forced fumble in a 36-29 loss to NCSU on Nov. 28, 2020. Carter had two tackles the next year at NC State in a 41-17 loss on Nov. 20, 2021, in his other meeting.
Carter had 35 tackles in eight games played his sophomore year — he missed four games due to injury. He followed with 36 tackles and three interceptions, plus a 90-yard fumble return for a touchdown at Clemson his junior campaign. Carter was named honorable mention All-ACC.
Carter, who has been a Podcast host, entered the transfer portal and signed with Ohio State, but his role was reduced and he had five tackles in eight games played for the Buckeyes.
NC State has one scholarship remaining, though it could easily go to a walk-on, who is expected to impact the team this fall.
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