Football practices become increasingly important as Ohio State’s Spring Game approaches, but one wide receiver remains to be seen.
Duron Carter, a sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., did not play in the Rose Bowl and has been absent from practices since the game. He is not expected to play in the Spring Game.
“He still has some work to do in the classroom first, and then we’ll see where he is after the end of the spring term,” said wide receiver coach Darrell Hazell.
After a breakout season as a true freshman, during which he played in all of the 12 regular season games, the team has taken note of Carter’s absence.
“As a team, it’s affecting us because we need all of our guys, especially as a wide receiver core. All of us make each other better,” said senior receiver Taurian Washington. “We’re just hoping for the best for him, you know, hoping that he comes back soon so he can be part of this team.”
In Carter’s absence, Washington is starting as the team’s third receiver, but said they are “still rotating guys and seeing who’s the best fit right now.”
“I want to play like everybody else, but at the same time, it’s a team. It’s not just an individual thing,” Washington said. “We need all of our wide receivers. It’s not really a competition thing, you know, we try to help each other out as much as possible.”
Fellow wide receiver DeVier Posey related to Carter’s situation.
“Your freshman year in college for any college student is rough, you know,” Posey said. “You’re away from home and you’re trying to find out who you really are and the things that you do, basically just getting your priorities straight.
“For a guy to come in and to be given what he was given with his last name and the responsibilities that come with that, I feel like he handled it OK.”
Posey acknowledged that Carter was not taking his absences lightly.
“He’s learning from his mistakes, and I know he feels a lot of remorse from it,” Posey said.
“He wants to get back out here as soon as he can.”
Whether Carter will regain his position as No. 3 receiver in the fall is up in the air. So is his season in general.
“There’s always a learning curve, so we’ll see how much he has studied it by himself, how much film he has watched in the off-season, and then how fundamentally sound he is when he gets back out here,” Hazell said.
Hazell said that Carter’s absence is not affecting the team, contrary to what some players said.
“It’s business as usual,” Hazell said. “He’s got to work through some of the things that he needs to get finished, and we’ll do what we need to do with him there or not there.”
