Catching up with ... Rodney Carter

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When it came to catching passes at Purdue, few did it better than running back Rodney Carter. And that's saying something for a school that likes to throw the ball.

Carter arrived in West Lafayette in 1982 from Elizabeth, N.J., and made an immediate impact. His role continued to grow, as Carter helped the Boilermakers to the 1984 Peach Bowl, a memorable season that saw the Boilermakers beat Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame. No team had done that before, or since in the same season. Carter was a big reason for that success, catching passes from Jim Everett while playing from 1982-85.

And as a senior in 1985, Carter, led the nation with 98 receptions--the second-most in school history. (Chris Daniels made 121 in 1999.) He finished his career with 181 catches for 1,814 yards and four TDs and ran 1,182 yards. The 181 catches rank No. 6 in Purdue annals. No other running back ranks in the Top 20.

Carter was a seventh-round pick of the Steelers in 1986, playing three seasons with the organization. He made 86 catches for 810 yards and eight TDs and rushed 52 times for 224 yards and four scores.

GoldandBlack.com caught up with the 54-year-old Carter, who has dealt with health issues. He was diagnosed with MS in 2008 and went totally blind in 2012 due to complications from diabetes.

GoldandBlack.com: How do you cope with your health issues?

Carter: I am not complaining or anything. I am all good. I am doing what I have to do. I am totally blind. I am on Facebook and my computer. With the technology now, I have a reader. I am able to respond and answer. People don’t know I lost my sight. It isn’t something I broadcast. Most of my friends know. It is what it is. Some people see me on Facebook and have no idea. I just take it one step at time.

GoldandBlack.com: What type of career did you have post-football?

Carter: I was in construction for a few years, and then taught and coached a few years before getting into pharmaceutical sales. I worked for Merck. I was working from home in 2011. My long-term insurance paid for things (after incurring health issues). I am home in the days. I am on the computer, I can type, I listen to music. I can respond to people when I get messages. I am gonna get back involved with the Blind Association. There is no substitution for human interaction.

GoldandBlack.com: How did you end up at Purdue?

Carter: Lee Larkins came from Purdue to recruit me. He was from New Jersey. I knew Purdue was in the Big Ten. But that’s all I knew. I didn’t know where it was. But I was going on the trip. Michigan also came in. That was my first trip. I was a Michigan guy in high school. They had Anthony Carter. And I was a Carter. I thought that was cool. I was excited. But by the end of the trip, I knew I wasn’t going to Michigan. Bo (Schembechler) was honest with me. He said they may want to look at me as DB. I didn’t like that. I was a running back. I also played baseball and Bo said I could only do that after I was in school for two years. I visited Ohio State, Nebraska, Arizona and I cancelled by USC trip. I just felt comfortable at Purdue.

GoldandBlack.com: What do you recall about your visit to Purdue?

Carter: Derrick Taylor was my host. They called Derrick “Hack" because he was from Hackensack, N.J., and his brother was the lead singer for Kool & The Gang. I thought that was pretty cool. J.T. Taylor was his brother's name. They were pretty popular. When you think of Purdue, you almost think of it as a private school more than a state school. I had a ball on my recruiting trip. Steve Griffin was on the trip, he ended up being a roommate later. We played basketball on the trip. It just felt like family. I ended up starting as a freshman in football. I have great memories.

GoldandBlack.com: What was your best game at Purdue?

Carter: Probably the game at Ohio State in 1985 my senior year when I caught 16 passes. We lost (41-27). But it was a great game for me. We played Illinois the week (30-24 win) before at home, and that was exciting. I had 13 catches in that game. We ran the same play all the time: "89 Fan High." Everyone remembers that.

GoldandBlack.com: Describe that play.

Carter: The fullback and running back would cross. Ray (Wallace) would run across in a pick-type of situation vs. a man defense. In a zone, I would just sit down in a spot. And we had variations of that play. What helped that play was I was elusive. I could take a short pass and advance it. It was amazing. I led the nation in receiving with 98 catches. And 65 of those may have been on that one play.

GoldandBlack.com: Have to ask you about the last play of the Iowa game in 1985, a 27-24 loss to the No. 5 team in the nation. Here is an account of the game with a description of the final moments that involved Carter.

Carter: I can see it in my mind. I think we had 20 seconds or so left in the game. We were driving and trailing. When I caught the ball, I could have made it out of bounds, but I was thinking score. It sounds stupid now. When I got tackled, they piled on, making it hard to get up to try to run another play. I felt so bad about that. It stayed with me. It was tough going home after that. I was mad at myself. We had a good team that year (finished 5-6). We lost some close games that year, to Pitt (31-30) and Michigan State (28-24).

GoldandBlack.com: Few probably recall that you played baseball at Purdue, too.

Carter: I was drafted by the Texas Rangers in high school. I played just my freshman year in baseball at Purdue. I started in left field and usually hit lead off. The football coaches wanted me to come back for spring ball (my freshman year). Well, by then, baseball was going well for me. They had (Purdue alum, assistant and future Michigan State coach) Bobby Williams come over to my dorm to talk to me. But I didn’t leave the team. After that season, I focused on football.

GoldandBlack.com: Talk about your NFL career.

Carter: I hurt my knee in training camp and missed my rookie year (1986). I didn’t even get touched. I caught my knee in the turf. Tore my ACL. In 1987, I was the very last cut by the Steelers. But I ended up coming back later that season as a replacement player during the strike. The Colts wanted me (during the strike). Leon was on the staff with Ron Meyer. Cleveland wanted me, too. But I went back to the Steelers because I knew the system and knew I would start. I just wanted to get some film to show other teams. I did well and the Steelers kept me after the strike. I was the third-down back. First game after the strike vs. Kansas City, I scored two TDs. I played two more years after that before having another knee injury that ended my career. My best game was against the Broncos in 1988. I had a 64-yard TD run and had 100 yards rushing with two touchdowns.

GoldandBlack.com: And you married a Purdue athlete, right?

Carter: Yes. Yvonne Netterville (who is in the Purdue athletics hall of fame for track). I met Yvonne after my freshman year. I first noticed her when I was in the training room while playing baseball as a freshman. The track athletes would come. They called me “the black baseball player.” We got married in 1987. And we have been in Bethlehem, Pa., since 1992. I have a son and daughter. My son played football at Bucknell and is working. My daughter is finishing college. Yvonne worked as a flight attendant for over 20 years and has been working in mental health the last 10 years.

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