MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Last winter, N.C. State transfer wideout Devin Carter’s commitment to Penn State wasn’t sitting well internally.

Carter thought about the Christmases at his grandparent’s house in Princeton, W.Va. He thought about his mother’s deep allegiance to the Wild and Wonderful State because of her Welch-area upbringing. The blood ties to the state ran deep.

“I just kept thinking about West Virginia honestly,” he said. “…It just felt like home. It really did.”

Some introspective thinking, along with a call from a recent WVU receiver, finally turned those thoughts into actions, and Carter pledged to be a Mountaineer in January.

The Clayton, NC native played five seasons with the Wolfpack, racking up 1,906 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 118 catches. In 2022, he tallied 406 yards receiving and two scores. His best season came as a sophomore in 2021 when he logged 556 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

His 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pound frame is ideal for an NFL receiver, and he said that he planned on trying his luck in this past spring’s NFL Draft.

“I had wanted to go the [NFL] next year and enter the draft, but then I thought about it, and talked to a couple people that I respect, and they told me [to] consider taking [my] sixth year,” Carter said. “So, I did, and I couldn’t be happier honestly. I think I made the right decision for myself, and things are going to take place in the fall.”

One of those voices was none other than former WVU wideout Bryce Ford-Wheaton, now a receiver for the New York Giants, and Carter’s high school comrade.

“[He told me] I can be the next big receiver here. [He said] I can come in takeover and kind of be that guy and fit into that role.”

In April, Carter received some affirmation for his decision. He logged three receptions and a game-high 77 receiving yards – including a 54-yarder – in April’s Gold-Blue spring game at Milan Puskar Stadium. He credits his performance to three-plus months of work with the Mike Joseph’s strength and conditioning staff.

“I’m just stronger all around, more flexible, faster,” he said. “Everything you want to get out of the strength staff, you get out of these guys. They push us every day and want perfection in the weight room.”

Now entering his sixth, and final, collegiate season, Carter knows there’s room to grow in order to be an NFL prospect. He says the first task is improving his ability to collect yards after the catch. For him, that’s all it is: a task. There is little doubt, if any, in his mind.

“Guys don’t know if I can do that as well as I think I can,” he said. “So I just have to prove that to them.”