Devin Carter turning pro, opting out of bowl game per Doeren, Carter refutes report
NC State football coach Dave Doeren said that no Wolfpack player that is currently in the transfer portal will participate in the bowl, and Doeren also confirmed that at least one player will be opting out. Fifth-year redshirt junior Devin Carter is declaring for the NFL Draft, and he will not play for NC State when the Wolfpack battles Maryland in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, Doeren said during a Monday afternoon press conference.
The contest is scheduled for a noon kickoff on Dec. 30.
Carter ended his NC State career on a high note, hauling in 6 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in the 30-27 double overtime win over North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Nov. 25.
“Devin Carter is the only player that was playing that won’t play in the bowl game,” Doeren said. “He has decided to declare for the NFL and do that, so we’re wishing him well.”
The redshirt-junior wide receiver tweeted after those comments were made, saying he has not entered the draft.
Overall, Carter finished his 2022 season with 25 receptions for 406 yards and a couple of scores. For his career, he caught 118 passes for 1,906 yards and 10 TDs.
Carter had another season available to him after the NCAA froze eligibility in 2020, but he has elected not to use that. He telegraphed his thought process when he chose to participate in Senior Day on Nov. 12 against Boston College.
Carter’s opting out means that NC State will have to replace three of the top four pass catchers on the 2022 team. Wideouts Thayer Thomas and Darryl Jones are both super seniors who are exhausting their eligibility after the bowl game.
Thomas led the Wolfpack with 53 receptions for 588 yards and 4 touchdowns. Jones had 27 catches for 231 yards and 3 scores.
Carter was considered an On3 Consensus three-star prospect in the 2018 class out of Clayton (N.C.) High. The rankings also had him the No. 28 prospect in the state of North Carolina. Carter picked NC State over offers from Michigan State, Minnesota and Wake Forest, among others.
Joining Carter in not being with NC State in Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl for NC State are fifth-year redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary, fifth-year redshirt junior receiver Jasiah Provillon and fourth-year redshirt sophomore nose tackle Joshua Harris.
Leary, who regardless would have missed the game after having surgery for a torn pectoral muscle, Provillon and Harris are all in the NCAA’s transfer portal.
Carter is the first known NC State player to have decided to pursue the NFL Draft with eligibility remaining for the Wolfpack. Further decisions are likely coming from others, notably fourth-year junior linebacker Drake Thomas, fifth-year redshirt junior linebacker Payton Wilson and fourth-year redshirt sophomore cornerback Shyheim Battle, among others.
All three of those players joined Devin Carter in walking on Senior Day. College underclassmen have until Monday, Jan. 16 to declare their intentions to enter the NFL Draft. This year’s draft will take place in Kansas City on April 27-29.
