Rudy is Primed for a Spectacular Senior Season

If you have never heard the name Rudy Carpenter (6’3”, 190 pounds) before, you surely will in the next year. Amidst a struggling season at Newbury Park, a team that had just 23 players, Carpenter emerged during his junior season as one of California’s top gun slingers. Because of conflicts with Newbury Park’s baseball coach and administrative issues, he will play on a much more talented Westlake team next season.

“Yeah there is definitely more [talent] there,” Carpenter said regarding Westlake. “We have like 6’4” and 6’6” guys so there is definitely more talent there. It’s not difficult to run a new system, but it’s difficult to go to a school and adjust to the kids especially when the school you went to before was not a liked school.”

“Going to Westlake, they have much better coaching over there and they have almost three times as many players,” Rudy’s father, Scott Carpenter, said.

To this point, USC, UCLA, Miami, Washington, Oregon State, San Diego State, Washington and Oregon State are the schools that have shown the most recruiting attention in Carpenter. The Aztecs, along with Michigan, Oregon State, San Jose State, Fresno State and Wyoming have offered him a written scholarship.

What are Carpenter’s impressions of SDSU? “I like them a lot; it’s a school I like a lot,” he said. “I have never really been down to the school but from what I hear it’s a really nice school. I met the quarterback coach there, which is also the head coach, and I like him a lot. I think I am going to go down there in the next two or three weeks to take a visit, on an unofficial trip just to see what it’s like.”

Although Rudy’s father likes USC’s coaching staff, a school like San Diego State might have a chance. “He wants to play, not that he is ever saying he could not play at a big school but the cliché is the top ten television teams are going to try to replace you every year,” Rudy’s father said. “I know that as a family and as his dad, we were all impressed with USC’s coaching staff and we met them all and I can say that they appear to be second to none as far as a coaching staff goes. And they seem to like him a lot.”

His recruiting process is open at this time and a time table for a decision has not been set. “I want to go where I can feel comfortable going to school for the next five years,” Rudy Carpenter said. He is thinking of majoring in something relating to law.

“Just because he is a California kid that really hasn’t been around the block I don’t even think that he knows,” his dad, Scott explained. “In a perfect world maybe you try to stay home because it has a comfort level but then again, maybe he wants to venture out.”

“He hasn’t really had a chance to have a lot of sit down one on one talks with anyone in particular,” Rudy’s father added. “He has gotten phone calls from all of them and he has read the letters. But my advice is, as a dad for him, maybe go on some trips because you can’t do that until September.”

Mr. Carpenter has some football experience, he was a defensive standout at Newbury Park. Scott went on to play a year of junior college ball and played semi-pro ball for the Ventura County Cardinals. “I was kind of like Rudy, I played at Newbury Park and I was the things that he was, the All-County, All-CIF,” he expressed. “I’m a defensive guy, he is an offensive guy, so it’s a little different. “

Rudy Carpenter runs a 4.7 second 40-yard dash and actually led Newbury Park in rushing, despite the fact that he was sacked an enormous amount, a stat that was not officially kept. Rudy likes to compare his style to that of Brett Favre.

“Even though he hasn’t made a penny yet, just a phrase, he has always made his living off his arm whether it be a pitcher in baseball or throwing the ball in football,” Mr. Carpenter said.

Rudy threw for 3,125 yards, 32 touchdowns and 19 interceptions last year. He was named First-Team All-CIF and Second-Team All-State. Carpenter had no receivers over six-feet tall and had just one receiver who ran under a 4.8 second 40-yard dash. Yet, there were three players that caught over 60 passes.

“Hopefully colleges that recruit with savvy will look and see for a team that never rushed the ball and the defense had no element of surprise, they knew he was going to pass on every play, he threw almost 400 attempts and he had 19 picks,” Scott Carpenter explained. “So if you look at it like that it’s not terrible.”

Rudy attended a one day Adidas camp in Nebraska, the Nike Camp at USC, and the Las Vegas Pre-Elite 11 camp this summer.

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