Well, he was a 1991 Parade All-American then attended PSU from 1992-1994....so I'm not sure how he was there for four years. And Paterno encouraged him to leave early, not after he completed four years.
No. He did have a year of eligibility left, but he was at PSU for 4 years, playing 3.
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/spo...nside-kijana-carter-trade-red-flags/30854581/
There was a near consensus leading into the 1995 NFL Draft that Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter was worthy of the top selection, but for some there were red flags sticking out of his medical file.
Carter had a long injury history beginning at Westerville South High School just outside of Columbus.
1987: He missed his freshman year
due to Osgood-Schlatter disease (inflammation associated with growth spurts).
1990: Knee and hand injuries
limited him to just five games as a senior. But, he was a USA Today and Parade All-American after rushing for 985 yards and 11 touchdowns.
1991: He had
arthroscopic surgery on a knee, causing him to
redshirt.
1993: He suffered a
calf strain against
Illinois. Carter missed the last two regular season games before returning to rush 19 times for 93 yards and two touchdowns in the Florida Citrus Bowl.
1994: The calf strain was reported as a "
knee injury" in by the start of the 1994 season, and that
swelling in that knee forced him to miss spring practices. He also suffered a dislocated thumb, but that only caused him to miss two quarters.
Washington was picking fourth in 1995, one spot ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals, and its former general manager Charley Casserly recalls that he took Carter off the board due to their medical concerns.
"That was really our biggest thing on him," said Casserly, now an analyst on the NFL Network. "So at that point of the draft, we weren't going to consider him.
"He was a top 10 player but we had concerns on the medical and durability, but medical is an arbitrary decision. We took Curtis Martin off the board and obviously we weren't right on that one. It's a guessing game when you're doing medical. That's essential. If you only have half the story it's not fair to the Bengals."
Former Minnesota general manager Jeff Diamond agreed with that assertion and said that while Carter's medical history raised eyebrows with his organization, it wouldn't have prevented them from picking him if it was possible.
***no disrespect to Carter, who was a great player at PSU, particularly in 1994. IMO Barkley is the best ever at Penn State.