One of the biggest needs on the roster for West Virginia was at wide receiver.
The Mountaineers lost their top four pass catchers from a season ago and with them a total of 179 catches, 2,216 yards and 17 touchdowns in the process. That’s 87-percent of the yards and 89-percent of the touchdowns at the wide receiver position a season ago.
That’s where North Carolina State transfer wide receiver Devin Carter could come into play. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound, pass catcher initially committed to Penn State following the Rose Bowl games but elected to flip his commitment to the Mountaineers largely due to their persistence.
Carter did not enroll at Penn State at the start of the spring semester along with their other transfer commitments and then removed his commitment graphic on his social media account. That eventually led to his announcement that he would instead be pivoting to spend his final season in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers prioritized Carter from the moment he entered the transfer portal in mid-December and the North Carolina native was receptive.
Carter has started 41 games in his career and appeared in almost 50 and has proven to be a reliable wide receiver that can create things down the field.
During his time in Raleigh, Carter hauled in 118 catches for 1,906 yards and 10 touchdowns while playing a total of 2,264 snaps over his five seasons with the Wolfpack. This past season Carter caught 25 passes for 406 yards and a pair of touchdowns but was limited to just 9 games due to injury but now is going to have every opportunity to increase those totals.
West Virginia needed to get better at wide receiver in a hurry and adding a player that has played over 2,200 snaps at the position is certainly a major boost to those efforts.
Carter becomes the second wide receiver commitment from the transfer portal for West Virginia this off-season joining Kent State slot Ja’Shaun Poke. The program is still targeting a number of others as the Mountaineers have just nine scholarship wide receivers including a pair of true freshmen.
Carter is expected to enroll at West Virginia this week and gives the program some momentum heading into the stretch run. Players have until Jan. 13 to enroll and participate in spring ball.
by Keenan Cummings
