Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter knew he would be
returning to his Southern California roots this season, but he
never suspected he would be the starting quarterback when he did
so.
But that’s how it has played out. When starter Sam Keller
went down in ASU’s loss to Stanford, Carpenter, a red-shirt
freshman, became the starter and immediately had success, leading
the Sun Devils on a two-game winning streak through the Washington
schools, while earning himself Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week
honors.
So when Carpenter, who went to Westlake High School, returns
this weekend to take on the Bruins, he will be at the helm of one
of the top offenses in the nation.
“Coming back has taken on a whole new meaning,”
Carpenter said. “I get to come back and play in the Rose
Bowl. Now that I’m the starting quarterback, there are tons
of phone calls, with people wanting me to get them tickets. There
are still people back home interested in me.”
Coming out of high school, Carpenter was heavily recruited by
UCLA, and he was almost ready to verbally commit. After some
thought though, he decided that ASU was the best fit for him.
“To be honest with you, I laid out all my options and just
liked ASU better,” Carpenter said. “UCLA was definitely
in my top two. UCLA’s a great place and a great campus, but
I’m definitely happy with the decision I made.”
Citing the chance to play early as the main reason for choosing
ASU, Carpenter couldn’t have been expecting to play this
early with Keller, a junior, ahead of him. Now that Keller is
injured, though, he has served as a mentor to Carpenter.
“Sam has helped me since the first day I got here,”
Carpenter said. “With the Washington game, he told me what to
expect, and he came on the road trip versus Washington State. He
keeps me relaxed and makes sure I’m not so weird about the
game that I try to do too much.”
In his two victories has a starter, Carpenter has thrown for
five touchdowns, with only one interception. So far, he has
impressed his coach, Dirk Koetter, with his play, something Koetter
was expecting all along.
In fact, after making a decision to offer Carpenter a
scholarship when he was a junior in high school, Koetter
doesn’t have any reason to regret his decision.
“The thing that sold me was Rudy’s ability to
scramble and throw on the run and his ability to make plays,”
Koetter said. “It was a battle between us and several other
schools to see who was going to get him.
“Rudy was criticized very strongly in spring ball (but) no
player on our team worked harder in the film room this offseason
than Rudy Carpenter.”
Carpenter, who saw the Cade McNown days at the Rose Bowl, is not
feeling much pressure coming home this weekend. Instead, he’s
feeling excited.
“It’s fun playing in front of friends and
family,” Carpenter said. “I’m just excited to
come back and play for ASU against UCLA in the Rose
Bowl.”
UCLA, coming out of a disappointing loss to Arizona, will be the
toughest obstacle of Carpenter’s young career, but Carpenter
feels that he should be fine as long as he plays within
himself.
“I have to stay calm and not be too anxious or too
nervous,” Carpenter said. “(UCLA is) ranked No. 14 and
have got only one loss. They’re obviously our biggest
challenge.”