ESPN’s latest college football feature had a simple premise: pick the greatest player to wear each number. Good idea, plenty of room for debate, and a chance to spotlight some all-time names.
But when the list got to No. 1, ESPN tripped over a glaring mistake that Michigan fans noticed immediately. Anthony Carter, one of the most important players in Wolverines history, was identified as an Ohio State Buckeye.
That’s the kind of error that jumps off the page. Carter wasn’t just some random name attached to Michigan’s No. 1 - he was the original one, the player who helped set the standard for what that number could mean in Ann Arbor. Braylon Edwards later followed that path, but Carter started it.
His résumé speaks for itself. Over four seasons from 1979 to 1982, Carter caught 141 passes for 2,681 yards and 31 touchdowns. He led the Big Ten in touchdown receptions twice, with 13 in 1980 and 8 in 1982, production that stands out even more when you remember how much less teams threw the ball back then.
ESPN did name Larry Fitzgerald as the best college player to wear No. 1, but then it compounded the mistake by listing Carter as another great while assigning him to Ohio State. That’s the part that makes the whole thing hard to miss.
Carter’s college career also came with plenty of hardware. He was a two-time All-American, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, and finished fourth in the 1982 Heisman voting before the Dolphins selected him in the 1982 NFL draft.
Against Ohio State, Carter went 1-3 in his career. That only makes ESPN’s mix-up look even stranger.
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