Ja'Had Carter Becomes Seventh Ohio State Transfer To Shed Black Stripe

The safety shed his black stripe at Ohio State's practice Tuesday, ringing him in as an official member of the team.

Welcome the newest member of the Brotherhood, JaHad Carter pic.twitter.com/l16fVnojP4

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 22, 2023

Carter becomes the seventh addition from the transfer portal to drop the dark decal on his helmet, joining Davison Igbinosun, Tristan Gebbia, Josh Simmons, Tywone Malone, Vic Cutler Jr. and Lorenzo Styles Jr. Only former Northwestern linebacker Nigel Glover – who arrived at Ohio State before the first day of preseason camp – has yet to get his removed.

In three seasons as a starter at Syracuse, Carter accumulated 136 tackles, five interceptions and seven pass breakups. He hauled in a career-high three picks in 2022, but his career-best in tackles remains his freshman year when he recorded 65 takedowns.

A knee injury suffered on April 1 kept Carter out of the latter portion of spring practice, and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles indicated at his press conference on Monday that Carter had been "banged up" during fall camp.

Carter remains in competition to be the starting adjuster for the Buckeyes, vying for the job with graduate Josh Proctor and freshman Malik Hartford.

"I want to make sure that we solidify that other safety position," Knowles said. "Between Proctor and Malik and Ja'Had, I think that battle is still out there, so I want to make sure we solidify that."

With his black stripe gone, time will tell what Carter's role in this year's defense will be.