Kahlil Rafiq Carter, (born September 13, 1976) is a former professional gridiron football player and coach.

College football

From 1994 to 1997, Carter walked-on to the University of Arkansas' football team along with Brandon Burlsworth who inspired the movie Greater. He began his university career as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

before making the transition to wide receiver. In 1998, Carter transferred to

Southern Arkansas University Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas. History Southern Arkansas University was established by an Act of the Arkansas Legislature in 1909 as a district agricultural high school for southwest Arkansas and ...

where he led the Muleriders in

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles.

Professional football career

Carter has been a professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

player in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

, and the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. His last season of professional football was spent playing

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the AFL for the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa) ...

in 2010. Carter has also spent time in the NFL with Buffalo and NFL Europe with the

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, E ...

. Carter also was a defensive back in the CFL with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

and the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

. 2000 Carter signed with the

Arkansas Twisters Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

. He rotated between QB, WR, DB, LB and became the first player in team history to be signed to a professional contract (AFL). Completed 16–25 passes for 201 yards and 6 touchdowns while catching 10 passes for 165 yards and 5 touchdowns. Also recorded 25 tackles 2 ints, and 11 pbu's. 2001 Signed by the Milwaukee Mustangs (AFL). Played in all 14 regular season games with Milwaukee and recorded 35 catches for 364 yards and 6 touchdowns to go along with 24 tackles, two knockdowns, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble on defense. Saw time at QB and completed four of four passes and two touchdowns. Named teams rookie of the year and a reserve on the AFL all-Rookie team. 2002 Acquired by the

Toronto Phantoms The Toronto Phantoms were a professional arena football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team also previously operated in New York Ci ...

(AFL) in the 2002

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team ceases to exist or is merged with another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in North America. ...

and recorded 17 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery, and two knockdowns, catching 10 passes for 119 yards and one touchdown. 2003 Attended training camp with the eventual ArenaBowl champions

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

. Signed with the Arkansas Twisters (af2) and set an af2 league record with 14 interceptions in 14 games (16 interceptions in 17 games including playoffs) and was named af2 Defensive Player of the Year. 2004 Signed with the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

of the AFL to complement all-time great Kenny McEntyre. Signed by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

and allocated to the

. Led team in special team tackles. Recorded 28 tackles, 3 pass breakups, 2 force fumbles and 1 blocked field goal while captaining one of the stingiest secondaries in NFL Europe history. Attended training camp with the Buffalo Bills before sustaining season ending sports hernia. 2005 Acquired by Nashville Katz (AFL) in 2005 dispersement draft and recorded 70 tackles, 7 INT (second most in the AFL) and one forced fumble with Nashville. Named Second-Team All-Arena at corner and safety. 2006 Carter was a pre-season all-arena selection for the Nashville Katz of the AFL. Named AFL Defensive Player of the Week on February 28 after posting 11 tackles, 2 pass break-ups and an interception in Katz victory. Named Defensive Player of the Week in Conference Championship vs Dallas for recording 2 INT, one for a TD. He played in

ArenaBowl XX ArenaBowl XX, held on Sunday, June 11, 2006, was played to determine the championship of the 2006 season of the Arena Football League (AFL). For the second consecutive year, the game was played at the neutral site of the Thomas & Mack Center in P ...

where he recorded the longest touchdown run in ArenaBowl history (36 yards.) He joined the

(CFL) in week 2 and eventually played in 12 games, starting seven at DB and CB, also saw time at LB and on ST. Established career highs in defensive tackles, interceptions and interception return yards. Moved into a third place tie with LB Don Wilson on the Argos’ all-time single season interception yards list with 184. Placed tied for 3rd all-time on Argo's consecutive games with an interception list with 3. Week 7, recorded his first-ever CFL interception (03/08/06) and returned it 84-yards for a TD. 2007 Dressed for all 18 regular season games rotating in the Toronto Argonauts' secondary, starting 6 at DB and CB. Finished the season with 3 ints and two defensive touchdowns. Named player of the week on Sept 13 for a 7 tackle performance which included an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown against

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. Named to the

anniversary team and voted the #2 defensive specialist in af2 history. Had his #9 jersey retired by the

of the af2. 2008 Carter attended training camp with the

Kansas City Brigade Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the we ...

(AFL) after being traded from the

(AFL) in exchange for DB

Kenny McEntyre Kenny "The Glove" McEntyre (born December 12, 1970) is a former arena football defensive back. He played college football at Kansas State Wildcats football, Kansas State. McEntyre played for the Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas Ci ...

. He played in two preseason games and recorded interceptions in both before sustaining a season ending shoulder injury. Went to training camp with the

replacing

Jordan Younger Jordan Younger (born January 24, 1978) is the defensive backs coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is also a former professional defensive back and played for nine years in the CFL where he won two Gre ...

at boundary corner recording 3 tkls 1 pbu and 1 ints in preseason game versus

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Signed by Orlando Predators of the AFL. Played in AFL playoff game on three days notice. Recorded 6 tkls 1 pass break up, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception despite loss. Signed by Montreal in July. Played in four regular season games recording 7 tkls, 2 ints 1 def. td (50 yds.) and 5 pass break ups. East Final versus Edmonton 5 tkls 4 pass break ups, 2008 Grey Cup game high 8 tkls, good for 3rd all time in Grey Cup history. 2010 Carter served as player/coach and team captain for the

of the new

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

. At age 34, Carter was one of only 3 players with AFL experience on a very young Barnstormer team. Khalil appeared in all 16 games and finished with 85 tackles, 5 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries, and 17 pass breakups. Coach Carter, as he affectionately became known, captained the Barnstormers 3rd ranked scoring defense also finishing 1st against the run. For the second season under coach Carter's watch, one of his players (

Tanner Varner Tanner Varner (born July 13, 1984) is an American football linebacker who is currently retired. He first enrolled at Ellsworth Community College before transferring to the University of Northern Iowa. Varner has been a member of the Arkansas Twi ...

) broke the league tackling record with 146 tackles. Under Carter's watch Jason Simpson also broke the AF2 record in 2007 for the Arkansas Twisters with 145. Both were rookies and recorded at least 8 interceptions as well. After the season, Carter announced his retirement and was hired to coach the secondary at Graceland University in southern Iowa.

Coaching career

Carter began his coaching career as a player/coach in 2007 as Pass Game and Special Teams Coordinator for the Arkansas Twisters of the AF2 while still an active player in the CFL. In 2010, he also served as a player/coach with the Iowa Barnstormers. As a defensive back and team captain, Carter assisted with their weekly game-plan preparation and their player personnel. Later in 2010, Carter took his first collegiate coaching position as a volunteer assistant and Secondary and coach at

Graceland University Graceland University is a private university with campuses in Lamoni, Iowa, and Independence, Missouri. The university offers degree completion and master's degree programs at satellite campuses in Centerville and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Trento ...

. In the spring of 2011, Carter served as defensive coordinator for the

Trenton Steel The Trenton Steel was a professional indoor football team that began play in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) in the 2011 season. The team suspended operations December 27, 2011. The Steel were based in Trenton, New Jersey, with home gam ...

of the

Southern Indoor Football League The Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) was an indoor football league based in the Southern and Eastern United States. The most recent incarnation of the league was a consolidation of an earlier league of the same name that was formed by Thom H ...

. Later that year, he coached cornerbacks at Valley High School in

West Des Moines West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the ...

during its 2011 state 4A championship season. In July 2012, Carter was named the cornerbacks coach for the

Drake Bulldogs football The Drake Bulldogs are an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision non-scholarship college football program representing Drake University. They currently compete in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League and have been charter member ...

team. In his first season on the staff, he helped coach a pass defense that ranked second in the

Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member s ...

by allowing just 185 passing yards per game. That year Drake won a share of the

Conference Championship In 2013, Carter helped coach the #1 ranked defense in the Pioneer Football League producing a 2nd team All Conference Corner, Brad Duwe In 2014, Carter served as a guest coach for the Grey Cup champion, Saskatchewan Roughriders. Later that fall, Carter rejoined

Valley High School, upset #1 ranked Dowling Catholic, and finished #1 in the state. Also in 2014, Carter signed on to coach the secondary for the

FXFL Blacktips The Florida Blacktips were a professional American football team, operating as a traveling team. They were a charter member of the Fall Experimental Football League, which was trying to become the developmental league for the National Football Lea ...

of the newly formed FXFL which later became The Spring League. From 2015 to 2017, Carter was named as the defensive backs coach for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

of the

. Calgary finished with the #1 s doing défense and pass defense all 3 seasons reaching back to back Grey Cups in 2016 and 2017. On January 3, 2018, Carter was named the defensive coordinator for the

of the

, but on May 18, 2018, Carter resigned from the position for personal reasons, and was reassigned as a team scout. Carter coached for Valley High School again in 2019 and 2020 reaching another State championship in 2019 with a perfect 13-0 record. The 2020 season was cut short due to COVID in the semi-finals of the playoffs. On October 11, 2022, Carter was named as the head coach and defensive coordinator of the Cologne Centurions of the

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a professional sports#American football, professional American football sports league, league. The league (as of the 2023 season) consists of 17 teams located in Germany, Poland, Spain, Austria, Italy, S ...

. On March 17, 2023, Carter and the Centurions parted ways.

Personal life

Though born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Carter was raised in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, where he graduated from

Little Rock Central High School Little Rock Central High School (LRCHS) is an accredited comprehensive education, comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, Secondary education in the United States, United States. The school was the Littl ...

. He graduated in 2000 from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and a

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. In August 2014, Carter graduated with

Pi Alpha Alpha Pi Alpha Alpha ( or PAA) is the national honor society for students of public administration. It is administered by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration in the United States. The organization was formed to prom ...

honors receiving a Master of Public Administration from

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. Carter is one of the founding members of the ABH chapter of the

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

, and has over 10 years experience in youth counseling and mentoring. Carter is married to his wife Courtney, and has 4 daughters, Briana, Brooklyn, Mya, and Belize.

References

External links

Calgary Stampeders profile page

Graceland University profile
*Kahlil Carter on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/lcoachswaag {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Khalil 1976 births African-American players of Canadian football American football defensive backs American football wide receivers Arkansas Razorbacks football players Arkansas Twisters players Calgary Stampeders coaches Canadian football defensive backs Coaches of American football from Arkansas Coaches of American football from Washington, D.C. Drake Bulldogs football coaches Drake University alumni Graceland Yellowjackets football coaches High school football coaches in Iowa Iowa Barnstormers players Kansas City Brigade players Living people Montreal Alouettes players Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001) players Nashville Kats players Orlando Predators players Players of American football from Arkansas Players of American football from Des Moines, Iowa Players of American football from Washington, D.C. Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches Scottish Claymores players Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Southern Arkansas Muleriders football players Texas Revolution coaches Toronto Argonauts players Toronto Phantoms players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople