Anthony Carter ( American football ) Anthony Carter ( born September 17 , 1960 ) is a former American football wide receiver . He finished his college career as the University of Michigan ' s all - time leading receiver , and played professionally for thirteen years in the United States Football League and the National Football League . He is also known as ' AC ' . College career . Anthony " AC " Carter played for Michigan from 1979 to 1982 . Although the Wolverines employed an offense that relied mostly on its running back s , he was one of the most productive receivers in the school ' s history . Standing five feet , eleven inches tall and weighing only 160 pounds , Carter relied on his speed to make plays , and provided an effective counterpoint to coach Bo Schembechler ' s running game plan . In addition to his duties as a receiver , he was also the team ' s kickoff and punt returner for most of his career . During his freshman season Carter was used sparingly . He caught more than two passes in a game only once that season , but made the most of it when the ball was thrown to him . Seven of his seventeen receptions were touchdown s , and he averaged 27 . 2 yards per catch . His 45 - yard TD catch and run against Indiana as time ran out to give Michigan a 27 - 21 victory is considered one of the greatest plays , in Michigan football history , and the radio call by the legendary Bob Ufer is also considered a classic . In that game , Lee Corso ' s Indiana Hoosiers had tied it up with about a minute to go . At that time , college games could end in a tie , and Michigan had a 6 - 1 overall record , 4 - 0 in the Big Ten . While a tie was essentially as good as a win from Indiana ' s perspective , a tie was as good as a loss from Michigan ' s perspective . On the ensuing drive , Michigan was only able to get to the Indiana 45 - yard line with time fast running out . Things looked grim , but with six seconds remaining , Carter told quarterback John Wangler in the huddle , " Hey , Johnny . Throw the ball to me . I ' m going to be open . " On the next play , Carter , sprinting left to right , met Wangler ' s pass in a seam over the middle at the Hoosier 25 . He made a one - step cutback to his left to avoid one tackle and slipped another tackle at the 5 - yard line before bounding into the endzone after time had expired . By his sophomore year , Carter was the Wolverines primary option at receiver . That season he became the first second - year player to be voted Michigan team Most Valuable Player . A three - time All - American , he was named Big Ten Conference MVP his senior season , and finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy . He was the third NCAA Division I FBS athlete to total 1000 career yards on both kick return s and punt return s . He holds the NCAA career record for highest average gain per play ( Min . 5 , 000 yards , 275 - 374 plays , 5 , 197 on 298 ) . In 2001 Carter was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame . Records . When he graduated , Carter held nearly every Michigan career receiving and return record . He was the schools ' s all time leader in : His average of 17 . 4 yards - per - play was an NCAA record . Professional career . Upon graduating from college , Anthony Carter chose to play in the upstart USFL , rather than in the NFL . The league employed a territorial draft , aimed at sending players to teams whose fans were already familiar with them . Because of this unique system , the Michigan Panthers were allowed to select Carter prior to the league ' s traditional draft . 1983 was Carter ' s first season with the Panthers and one of his most successful as a professional . Although the team started 1 - 4 , they finished the regular season 12 - 6 and went on to defeat the Philadelphia Stars to win the first USFL championship . With his team behind late in the fourth quarter , he scored the game - winning touchdown on a 48 yard pass from Bobby Hebert . He finished the game with nine receptions for 179 yards . For the season , he gained 1 , 081 yards on 60 catches , nine of them touchdowns . Carter ' s 1984 season was cut short after only six games when his arm was broken in a game against the San Antonio Gunslingers . Before the 1985 season the Panthers merged with the Oakland Invaders . In his last USFL season , he led his team in receiving yards ( 1 , 323 ) , receptions ( 70 ) , and receiving touchdowns ( 14 ) . After the 1985 USFL season , Carter signed with the NFL ' s Miami Dolphins , who drafted Carter back in 1983 in order to secure his NFL rights . However , he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings before playing a game with the team . He led the Vikings in receptions five of his first six seasons with the team , and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1987 and 1988 . In the 1987 season , Carter helped his team reach the NFC championship . He set an NFL playoff record ( since surpassed ) with 143 punt return yards in their wildcard win over the New Orleans Saints , and caught 10 receptions for a then NFL playoff record 227 yards , along with 1 carry for 30 yards and two punt returns for 21 in the Vikings 36 - 24 upset win over the 13 - 2 San Francisco 49ers in the divisional playoff round . The 642 all purpose yards he gained in the 1987 playoffs remain a single postseason record . The following season , he caught 4 passes for 102 yards in a 28 - 17 wild card round win over the Los Angeles Rams . Although Cris Carter became the team ' s number one receiver in 1991 , Anthony Carter remained an effective offensive weapon through 1993 , his final season with the team . The final two years of Carter ' s pro career were spent in the same state where it began , this time with the Detroit Lions . Most of his time with the Lions was spent attempting to come back from injury . He played in only four games in 1994 , and failed to catch a pass in 1995 . Carter finished his 11 NFL seasons with 486 receptions for 7 , 733 yards and 55 touchdowns . He also rushed for 289 yards and 2 touchdowns , returned 15 punts for 165 yards , and returned 4 kickoffs for 65 yards .