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Rutgers Transfer Joins Brother At James Madison

Ron'Dell Carter (left) tries to tackle Penn State running back Saquon Barkley in State College, Pa.
Ron'Dell Carter (left) tries to tackle Penn State running back Saquon Barkley in State College, Pa. (Associated Press)

HARRISONBURG — There are plenty of reasons why college athletes transfer from one school to another — lack of playing time, new coach, general unhappiness.

But Ron’Dell Carter is moving on from Rutgers to join the James Madison football program for a different reason.

“From day one, me and my brother had a dream of playing college football together,” Carter, a defensive lineman, said this week.

Carter’s older brother, Robert Carter Jr., is a linebacker with the Dukes. Mostly on special teams, he played in 15 games this past fall for JMU’s national championship team, racking up 15 tackles on the season, including two in the title game against Youngstown State to go with recovering a blocked punt.

The younger Carter will be a redshirt sophomore in the fall and has three years of eligibility remaining after two seasons and this spring with the Scarlet Knights.

He said he is already in Harrisonburg.

“People were saying I was leaving [Rutgers] because I fell on the depth chart, but that made zero sense,” Carter said. “I was solidified at second string and was competing for the starting spot.”

He said he had already made up his mind to depart Piscataway, N.J., to team up with his brother.

Carter committed to Rutgers as a high school junior after Robert Carter Jr. had already decided on attending Florida A&M to run track. It wasn’t until after Robert Carter Jr. transferred to JMU to play football that the little brother saw it was possible for them to roam the same gridiron again.

JMU special teams coordinator John Bowers recruited both Carter brothers at Long Reach High School in Baltimore.

“When my brother came [to JMU], it was like I could try to graduate early and go there or he could try to graduate early and come to Rutgers, or I could just leave,” Ron’Dell said. “After a while, I just felt like it was best for me to leave Rutgers.

“And again, it wasn’t because of playing time or anything, I just felt like it was best for me to leave. I wanted to play with my brother and that was the biggest thing for me. So when I left, it was about me looking forward to playing with my brother and doing something that I wanted to do since I was a child.”

In 2016, Ron’Dell Carter appeared in five games for Rutgers. He made two tackles — one against Ohio State and one against Maryland. He also got credit for ½ sack against the Terrapins.

At 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, he’s more likely to play on the edge as opposed to on the interior of the defensive front. Madison returns projected starters in senior Andrew Ankrah and junior Darrious Carter at defensive end.

“I have to come here and earn my way up,” Carter said. “I’m not coming here saying I’m a starter, but I’m also not coming here saying I’m sitting on the bench. I’m coming here to compete.”

Carter is the fifth FBS transfer JMU has added since winning the national title. Georgia Tech transfer running back Marcus Marshall and Maryland transfer linebacker Gus Little were on campus and practiced with the team during the spring. Virginia transfers wide receiver David Eldridge and linebacker Landan Word announced last month they were joining JMU as well.

Carter said cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Tripp Weaver handled his recruitment this time around. When Carter was granted his release from Rutgers, he didn’t post on social media that his recruitment was open. He already knew where he was headed, he said.

“So I asked my brother if there was any way possible that I could get back in contact with JMU,” Carter said. “I thought if they offered me out of high school and I transferred there, they’d offer me again and I’d come there. After I got my release, they were like ‘we want to get you.’

“I didn’t want to go through the recruiting process. So once I got my release, I only announced it once I signed.”

Carter has already met most of the coaching staff, including coach Mike Houston and defensive line coach Jeff Hanson. He also knows a few teammates — Kyre Hawkins and Jahee Jackson — through his brother or having played together in high school all-star games.

“I’m just ready to get it going,” he said.

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