V’Lique Carter entered the NCAA transfer portal in January, signaling that his time at Pitt would be coming to an end after two seasons, and on Friday, he announced that he would be continuing his collegiate career under former Pitt assistant coach Greg Gattuso at Albany.
Just want to thank the man above for giving me another opportunity to play again. And also would like to thank Pittsburgh for instilling a lot of life time information I will use in the real world. Thankful for my Pitt teammates, y’all the bro’s 4L❤️..✌ #Committed UA #GreatDane pic.twitter.com/1wdV5kpM5N
— V’Lique Carter (@5_figures) May 8, 2020
“Just want to thank the man above for giving me another opportunity to play again,” Carter wrote in a message posted on Twitter. “Also would like to thank Pittsburgh for instilling a lot of lifetime information I will use in the real world. Thankful for my Pitt teammates. Y’all the bros 4L. #Committed UA #GreatDane.”
Carter, a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, committed to Pitt as a three-star safety in December 2017. However, he would make his mark on the program as a member of its offensive backfield, as he ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries against Duke in his collegiate debut on Oct. 27, 2018. However, Carter would never rush for 50 yards in a game again in his time with the Panthers.
Despite the downturn in productivity that followed his debut, Carter still made significant contributions to the Pitt offense during his freshman and sophomore seasons. In 2018, he finished with 202 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, ranking fourth on the team in total rushing yards and yards per carry, with 8.1. In 2019, he accrued fewer yards per carry, but still managed to amass 243 yards on 65 attempts. Carter also had 183 receiving yards and two touchdowns, making him a valuable asset in Pitt’s passing attack.
At Albany, Carter will join a program on an upswing, as the Great Danes went 9-5 last season and made the FCS playoffs. There, Albany beat Central Connecticut State 42-14 in the first round before falling to Montana State 47-21 the following weekend. It was the first time the Great Danes made the FCS playoffs since the 2011 season and the second time overall in the program’s history.