“Where is Duron Carter?”

Go to any Alabama football event ­— a game, practice, press conference or even just a discussion among passionate fans — and you’re almost guaranteed to hear that question asked.

Carter, the transfer wide receiver from Ohio State via Coffeyeville Community College, has been something of an enigma ever since his transfer was announced last spring.

He was billed by ESPN, rivals and many of the other scouting services to have the potential to be the next breakout receiver for Alabama since the departure of Julio Jones. Adding to the hype, he was supposed to wear number eight if he ever saw the field.

But that’s the problem. He never did, and he still hasn’t.

Academic issues and transcript problems kept Carter on the sidelines for the duration of the 2011 season, and he was eventually given a redshirt. He could only watch as Alabama won its 14th National Championship.

Although, it’s not like he didn’t contribute to the effort.

He practiced with the team all of last season, giving the Alabama defensive backs a formidable scout team receiver to go against in practice. The DBs all raved about Carter’s athletic ability and skill at the receiver position. At one point, he even ran the scout team offense as a quarterback to get the Tide prepared for Jordan Jefferson at LSU.

But every week, reporters asked Nick Saban if Carter had been cleared to play. Every week they got the same answer. For one reason or another — and many times those reasons were not made public — Carter could never be declared eligible to play, only to practice.

And so we come to 2012.

So far, the outlook is not good for Carter. Tide fans got a little ray of hope when Carter tweeted before spring practice, “Everyone asking if I’m going to play or not … Guess we’ll see in the spring, but I’ll tell you this I’m still in Tuscaloosa #ROLLTIDE.”

Well, we have seen in the spring, and Carter hasn’t been there. He hasn’t taken part in any of the workouts, and his name was even taken off the online roster on Monday.

Outside of Nick Saban and Carter himself, I’m not sure anybody has an idea of when or if Carter could see the field. Wide receiver Kevin Norwood was asked on Saturday if we will ever see Carter again. He simply shrugged his shoulders and said, “Your guess is as good as mine.”

And that’s all anyone can really do at this point: guess. Carter would certainly be a welcome addition to an Alabama receiving corps looking to replace three starters from last season, but that all seems like a pipe dream right now.

The mystery of Duron Carter will be solved eventually. He’ll either immediately be one of the Tide’s most talented receivers, or be dismissed from the team entirely.

But for now, all we can do is wait.