Kenneth A. Carter Named New DSU Football Head Coach

DSU President Harry L. Williams has named Kenneth A. Carter as the new head coach of the Hornet football program.

Dr. Williams and Athletics Director Candy Young introduced the new head coach during a Jan. 21 press event held on campus in the University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center.

“With this head coaching appointment, a fresh new chapter is beginning for the Hornet football program,” said Dr. Williams. “We are excited about the future, not only concerning what this will mean for DSU on the football field, but also in terms of the overall success of our student-athletes.”

The new Hornets football head coach inherits a team that was 2-10 overall and finished 10^th in the MEAC with a 2-6 league record this past season.

Athletics Director Young said Coach Carter has a proven record of success. “I believe he will bring that energy and motivation to the Hornet football team.”

She added that the head coach selection was consistent with the University’s Strategic Plan goal of Student Success, as “Coach Carter is very enthusiastic about the total growth of our young men.”

Coach Carter said he is “extremely excited” about this new chapter in his football career. “There are only 250 such opportunities in Division I football, so it is truly a blessing,” he said.

The incoming coach added that his coaching priorities are to be “fundamentally sound, thorough and ensure that the team understands that physicality, proficiency and energy will not be compromised.”

Coach Carter assumes his new head coaching post after serving during the 2014 football season in multiple assistant coaching positions for Youngstown State University in Ohio – as wide receiver coach, coordinator of passing game and co-coordinator of special teams.

Prior to that, Coach Carter served as a running backs coach and special teams coordinator for the University of Louisville from 2010-2014. During those years, Louisville was the Big East Champion in 2012 and co-champion of that conference in 2011 and made three bowl appearances, including the Sugar Bowl in 2013. From 2008-2010, Coach Carter was an assistant running back coach for the University of Florida, which was the BCS National Champion in 2008.

From 2001-2003, Coach Carter also served as the recruiting coordinator for running backs for Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. In addition, between 1990-2000 he held assistant coaching posts at Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Louisiana State University, Furman University, as well as at his alma mater The Citadel (Military College of South Carolina). In 1997, he completed an NFL internship as a defensive assistant under Miami Dolphins Head Coach Jimmy Johnson.

Coach Carter was a four-year letterman as an inside linebacker for The Citadel, during which time he was the college’s 1989 Special Teams Player of the Year. At that same school, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Health and Exercise Science in 1990.