FAITH and FOOTBALL
How UConn star Nate Carter navigated the decision that ended his once-promising season
As the UConn football team got on a plane to Raleigh for its game against NC State following a 59-0 loss to Michigan, star running back Nate Carter stayed back and took a hike.
When he’s overwhelmed or if he has a big decision to make Carter will often take time for himself, usually on a long walk or a hike. With his arm in a sling and a close friend from UConn walking by his side, the sophomore back got closer to making his looming decision with every step.
While hikes are normal for the trusting duo, this one wasn’t supposed to happen.
Carter had been off to the best start to a season in his young college career and sat among the nation’s leaders in nearly every rushing statistic. He amassed 400 rushing yards through four games — the last of which was cut short.
On a basic outside zone run play in the first half against Michigan, Carter saw a hole. As he pursued it, a pair of Wolverines made what appeared to be just a regular tackle. But Carter knew something wasn’t right. He remained on the field and played a few more snaps before getting to the sideline, where he realized he couldn’t lift his right arm.
Still, after talking with trainers and adding some extra padding around his shoulder, Carter’s love of the game pushed him back onto the field at Michigan’s “Big House” — a stadium he dreamed of playing in as a young kid at the Pop Warner level.
But it just wasn’t right.
“I just felt vulnerable,” he said. “I wasn’t able to protect myself, I wasn’t able to play as physical, as fast as I wanted to. I was constantly thinking about the shoulder injury.”
He found out after the game that he’d suffered a Grade 3 right shoulder separation and began weighing his options: play through it or have surgery and miss the rest of the season.
As the team spent the following week preparing for NC State, Carter spent his time talking to “wise counsel” — his family and others he trusts.
On Sept. 27, after the NC State game, UConn head coach Jim Mora told media that Carter’s status for the rest of the season was up to him — “A very personal decision,” Mora said.
The next day, Carter made an Instagram post quoting several Bible verses about choices. “I would’ve never imagined that this season for me would come down to a choice. I’ve learned that in life we will have to make some hard choices. Choices that go entirely against what you truly want to do. Choices that go against what others believe you should do,” he wrote, in part.
The post never explicitly stated that the decision had been made — it was the hashtag “till next time” that implied his season was done.