CHAMPAIGN — Edwin Carter will go down as the answer to a fairly interesting Illinois football trivia question.

Something like, which receiver caught two passes, both for touchdowns, in his Illini debut?

Carter’s first game in orange and blue was certainly memorable. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound receiver hauled in touchdown passes of 16 and 18 yards for touchdowns in Illinois’ 34-14 victory against Western Illinois on Sept. 8, 2018.

That was also the last time Carter appeared in a game for Illinois. The Jacksonville, Fla., native suffered a season-ending knee injury while catching his second touchdown against the Leathernecks, holding on to the ball as he landed in the end zone despite being upended (the hit that wrecked his knee) and landing awkwardly on his head.

Carter missed the rest of the 2018 season and then all of the 2019 season recovering from his injury. His next step won’t be getting on the field for the Illini in 2020. Carter announced via a note to Twitter early Monday evening that he was entering the transfer portal.

“These last few years at the University of Illinois have taught me a lot,” Carter wrote. “I’m blessed to be able to come here and play for the short time that I did, and I’m thankful for Coach Smith to give me the opportunity to play. With that being said, I would like to announce that I will be entering the transfer portal.”

Thus ended Carter’s brief, in a way, time at Illinois. His tenure with the Illini ended with two receptions for 34 yards and those two touchdowns.

Carter’s decision to transfer doesn’t affect Illinois’ wide receiver depth all that much. While the Illini also lost Ricky Smalling before the season started, they added a graduate transfer in Desmond Dan Jr. (New Mexico State) and had transfer waivers approved for Brian Hightower (Miami) and Khmari Thompson (Missouri). 

A healthy Trevon Sidney will also be a boost to Illinois’ receiver corps that will feature other returners like Josh Imatorbhebhe, Donny Navarro and Casey Washington. Illinois coach Lovie Smith and offensive coordinator Rod Smith have also both spoken highly of redshirt freshman Kyron Cumby.

Scott Richey is a reporter covering college basketball at The News-Gazette. His email is srichey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@srrichey).