FSU Retro Look Back: Dexter Carter

Younger Nole fans know Dexter Carter as the new running backs coach this year. Those of us who have been around the program a while know Dexter Carter as one of the great backs to have played at FSU. After playing at FSU, Carter was drafted in the first round in the 1990 NFL Draft. Carter was the first-round draft pick of the defending Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers.

A team captain at FSU in 1989, Carter left Tallahassee as the Seminoles' fifth all-time leading rusher with 1,788 yards on 327 carries He currently ranks 12th all-time on the career rushing list.

The FSU football media guide in 1986 described new arrival Dexter Carter as follows," Class AAA all-state performer after rushing for 1,400 yards as a senior...rushed for 1,800 as a junior and a total of 4,050 in his career...one of only three players in his school's history to make the all-state team three times...also named to the Florida Times-Union Super 11 list...competes in track and has run the 100 yards in 9.8 and the 110 high hurdles in 14.0...has long jumped 22 feet...it's his quickness that is his greatest asset...attended the Bobby Bowden Camp last summer and FSU was his choice of colleges since that time."

Carter was a speedy back who could elude defenders and get down the field. He was not afraid to be hit. He brought excitement to the team because you were always expecting him to break one for a TD or a long gain. Carter scored 22 touchdowns in his career, which is good for 12th place all-time at FSU and he ranked fourth all-time in career TDs when he left FSU. The Seminoles finished in the top four three times in Carter's career as he was part of the first three years of the "Dynasty Era".

In the pros, Carter played with the 49ers from 1990-94 before moving to the New York Jets in 1995. Carter returned to the 49ers after a brief stay in New York and finished his career in San Francisco. A member of the 1994 Super Bowl Champion 49ers, he won five NFC West championships in San Francisco during his career.In his seven NFL seasons Carter totaled 1,042 total yards and was one of the league's top kickoff and punt return specialists.

When he was hired as the new running backs coach, Carter said this, "I'm so excited to be back with the FSU program. Coming back as a coach at FSU is something that I thought about maybe 10 years ago, but I never thought that things would fall just right.It just worked out perfectly for me to be able to come back and I can't wait to get started."