He played college football at UC Davis, where he was the 2009 Great West Offensive Player of the Year and earned all-conference honors three times.
In his senior year, Carter helped lead the San Ramon Valley Wolves to an 11–2 record and their first North Coast Section championship.
[2] For the season, he was named the North Coast Section Offensive Player of the Year after catching 63 passes totaling 1,515 yards (24.0 avg.)
[4] After starting the first two games of the season, he lost the remainder of his sophomore year after tearing the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his left knee.
[2] However, Carter discovered four games into the season that he had torn cartilage in his left knee attributed to his body compensating for his 2007 PCL injury.
[5] Carter had nine catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns to help UC Davis win the Great West title in a 28-20 victory against North Dakota.