Matt Weir / The Collegian
Chris Carter was regarded as an undersized defensive end that many of the big-time schools from automatic qualifying conferences shied away from.
Recruiting websites pegged Carter as being “too small” to play on the defensive line at the Division I collegiate level. Many experts expected Carter to convert to linebacker in college because he lacked “ideal” size to be an every down impact player at defensive end.
But Carter has proved his critics wrong. The senior from Fontana, Calif. was named by coaches as the 2010 Western Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year after registering a conference-high 11 sacks and 16.5 tackles for a loss in his 2010 campaign with the Bulldogs.
“I’m just really proud and privilege to have such a team to make it possible for me to be able to do all that,” Carter said.
As a senior at Kaiser High School in 2006, Carter exploded on to the scene after tallying 106 tackles and 21 sacks, but the offers from Bowl Championship Series schools didn’t start piling in, most notably the top California universities: California, UCLA, USC and Stanford.
Carter received offers from only three BCS schools: Oregon State, Washington and Washington State, but the schools in the Northwest didn’t seem too attractive of a destination.
Fresno State was the lone California school to extend an offer to Carter, and it has paid off for both parties.
In his first year with the Bulldogs in 2007, Carter suited up and played as a pass rush specialist on obvious passing downs. Carter was the player that flushed then-Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan out of the pocket that made teammate Marcus Riley’s devastating hit on Brennan possible.
Riley’s bone-crushing hit became a YouTube sensation soon after. Riley, coincidently, was the last Bulldog to receive the WAC’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
“Marcus Riley got it when I came here,” Carter said. “I really wanted that award. I was just saying at the banquet, I told my parents that I really wanted to get that before I leave.”
As a true freshman, Carter recorded 15 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss in limited action.
After showing glimpses of his playmaking ability as a freshman, Carter was inserted into the starting lineup at linebacker in 2008 after injuries decimated the Bulldogs at the position. Carter made 10 starts at outside linebacker and racked up a career-best 88 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks.
But even then, Carter knew that his natural position was still at defensive end. So, in his junior season, coaches converted Carter back to defensive end and he’s made a living there ever since.
Carter provided a relentless pass rush all season long for the Bulldogs in 2009, but it was his performance at Camp Randall Stadium against Wisconsin where Carter stamped his name as a legitimate sack specialist.
In the second game of last season, Carter proved that his 6-foot-2-inch, 240 pound frame could hold up against the Big Ten’s 300-plus pound offensive linemen after sacking Badgers quarterback Scott Tolzien two times.
After a breakout junior season, Carter was selected as a second-team All-WAC performer for his 47 tackles and five sacks.
Carter will end his decorated Fresno State career when he returns to the smurf turf in Boise, Idaho to face off against Northern Illinois in the bowl game.
“I’m looking forward to go back to the Humanitarian Bowl,” Carter said. “They were great escorts to us the last time we went there. I’m just excited about it.”