TOUGH QB: Rudy Carpenter enters this season having started in 31 consecutive games. How impressive is that? In the Pac-10 last year, only two other quarterbacks did not miss a game. But here is the most impressive nugget...when Jake "the Snake" Plummer started the final 40 games of his career that ended in 1996, ASU began a stretch in 1997 that ended in 2004 (nine seasons) in which eight quarterbacks made at least one start. Rudy took over in the eighth game in 2005 and has started every game since. He has started every game the past two seasons, as only Andrew Walter in 2003 did the same in the past 11 seasons.
ASU QUARTERBACK STARTS (1997-PRESENT)
1997: Ryan Kealy (11), Steve Campbell (1)
1998: Ryan Kealy (9), Steve Campbell (1), Chad Elliot (1)
1999: Ryan Kealy (11), Griffin Goodman (1)
2000: Jeff Krohn (9), Griffin Goodman (2), Ryan Kealy (1)
2001: Andrew Walter (2), Jeff Krohn (9)
2002: Andrew Walter (10), Chad Christensen (4)
2003: Andrew Walter (12)
2004: Andrew Walter (11), Sam Keller (1)
2005: Sam Keller (7), Rudy Carpenter (5)
2006: Rudy Carpenter (13)
2007: Rudy Carpenter (13)
ASU: One of the top passers in the Pac-10 Conference who has created an excellent legacy during his first three years playing at ASU...has started 31 consecutive games dating back to the 2005 season...has totaled 7,998 passing yards, while completing 586-of-958 passes (61.2 pct.) with 65 touchdowns...among active quarterbacks in 2008 nationwide, he ranks second in career touchdown passes and fifth in career passing yards...he is also the leader among active Pac-10 quarterbacks in pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards and touchdown passes... has enjoyed more 300-yard passing games (nine) than any other active Pac-10 quarterback...his 65 career touchdown passes are tied with Jake Plummer for second all-time in school history, behind only Andrew Walter's 85, and he is third in school history in both pass completions and passing yards...his 61.2 completion percentage so far in his career is the best in ASU history...earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors for both his sophomore and junior season, and he received freshman All-America recognition in 2005...led the nation in three passing categories as a redshirt freshman in 2005 (passer efficiency rating, interception percentage and yards per passing attempt), while establishing a Pac-10 Conference record pass efficiency rating of 175.01, also the first time a freshman led the nation in the statistic...was the most accurate freshman passer in Division I-A history, completing an NCAA freshman record 68.4 percent of his passes...named a preseason first-team All-Pac-10 member by Phil Steele's College Football Preview.
2007: Started all 13 games...earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors for the second consecutive season...completed 246-of-398 passes for 3,202 yards and 25 touchdowns...became the fourth Sun Devil in school history to surpass 2,000 yards passing in three consecutive seasons, joining Jeff Van Raaphorst (1984-86), Jake Plummer (1994-96) and Andrew Walter (2002-04)...finished third in the Pac-10 conference in passing yards and touchdown passes...was one of 15 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien Award, presented annually to the nation's best quarterback...completed 14-of-20 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns in season-opening win over San Jose State on Sept. 1...threw two touchdown passes, both in the second quarter, and was 19-of-37 for 269 yards to help ASU rally from an early 14-point deficit to defeat Colorado on Sept. 8...went 15-of-21 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns in victory over San Diego State on Sept. 15...had a season-high four touchdown passes and was 25-of-36 for 361 yards to lead the Sun Devils to a comeback win over Oregon State in their Pac-10 opener on Sept. 22...completed 20-of-27 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown in victory at Stanford on Sept. 29...tossed two touchdown passes and went 19-of-27 passing for 217 yards at Washington State on Oct. 6...totaled 227 yards on 20-of-31 passing and threw two touchdowns, including a go-ahead score in the third quarter, against Washington on Oct. 13...completed 17-of-29 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown in victory over California on Oct. 27...passed for a season-high 379 yards on 22-of-36 passing with two touchdowns at Oregon on Nov. 3...had a streak of 106 pass attempts without an interception that stretched over the last five games of the season...went 16-of-31 passing for 200 yards and a touchdown in win at UCLA on Nov. 10...totaled 240 yards on 21-of-30 passing and had one touchdown pass against USC on Nov. 22...completed 20-of-37 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, including a 20-yard scoring pass to Michael Jones in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winning score, in victory over Arizona on Dec. 1...that win improved him to 3-0 as a starting quarterback against Arizona...finished the season by going 18-of-36 passing for 187 yards and two touchdowns in Pacific Life Holiday Bowl against Texas on Dec. 27...was named ASU's Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Year at team's year-end banquet.
2006: Started all 13 games...Earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in his first full season as starting quarterback...completed 184-of-332 passes for 2,523 yards and 23 touchdowns...finished third in the Pac-10 Conference in touchdown passes...also grossed 296 rushing yards (69 net yards)...completed 17-of-24 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns against Northern Arizona...threw a career-high five touchdowns against Nevada to go along with 333 yards on 17-of-26 passing...totaled 248 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 21-of-37 passes at Colorado...threw for 177 yards and two scores at California...attempted 75 passes over the course of five midseason games without an interception...tallied 183 yards of total offense at USC, including a career-high 49 net rushing yards, one of which was a game-high sprint of 38 yards...completed 14-of-15 passes against Stanford (93.3 pct.)...tossed a pair of touchdowns and engineered ASU's overtime victory at Washington...passed for a season-high 339 yards as well as three touchdowns on 15-of-24 passing against Washington State...threw three first-quarter touchdowns and totaled 214 passing yards, completing 17-of-25 attempts (68 pct.) in ASU's 28-14 win over Arizona...passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl versus Hawai'i...was listed as the 19th-best quarterback in the nation by Lindy's and the country's 28th-best passer by Phil Steele...Lindy's also regarded him as the "Pac-10's Most Accurate Passer"...earned Hard Hat Player honors for his work in ASU's offseason strength and conditioning program.
2005: Played in nine games, starting the final five of the season...despite starting fewer than half the season's games, he submitted the finest season by a freshman quarterback in ASU history...earned second-team Freshman All-America honors by Scout.com...was named an honorable mention Freshman All-American by Sporting News...earned the Mike Bartholomew Most Improved Offensive Player Award...led the nation and set an ASU single-season record with a 175.01 passer efficiency rating, the first freshman to do so since the statistic began to be tracked in 1979...also led the nation and established a new single-season school record for interception percentage (.008), throwing only two interceptions among his 228 total passing attempts...finished third in the nation and led the Pac-10, completing 68.4 percent of his passes...was the nation's leader averaging 10.0 yards per passing attempt...completed 156-of-288 passes for 2,273 yards and 17 touchdowns on the year...led ASU and finished sixth in the Pac-10 in passing yards...averaged 365.8 passing yards-per-game with a 12-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio as a starter, and held a 4-1 record while at the helm...submitted five of the top six single-game passing performances by an ASU freshman...was named Offensive Player of the Game for his efforts in engineering ASU's comeback victory in the 2005 Insight Bowl against Rutgers, completing 23-of-35 passes (65.7 pct.) for 467 yards and four touchdowns against the Scarlet Knights...his passing yardage that game was the greatest single-game amount by a freshman in ASU history, the highest single-game total in Insight Bowl and ASU postseason history, the ninth-best single-game passing performance in the nation for the season and the eighth-highest single-game total by any quarterback in ASU history...his four touchdown passes against Rutgers stands as the highest total by a Sun Devil passes in a bowl game...took over as ASU's main signal-caller in the second half at Stanford on Oct. 22, and completed 19-of-25 passes (76.0 pct.) for 304 yards and three touchdowns in the game's final two quarters alone...earned Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week honors following his first career start after completing 27-of-34 passes (79.4 pct.) for 401 yards and three touchdowns against Washington...had season-highs in passing attempts (43) and completions (28) to go along with 381 yards and two touchdowns against Washington State...completed 27-of-37 passes (73.0 pct.) for 334 yards and three touchdowns at No. 14 UCLA...threw for 246 yards against Arizona, and helped lead ASU's second-half, 15-point comeback effort to defeat the Wildcats.
2004: Redshirted as a member of the scout team...won the McBurney Scout Team Award as ASU's offensive scout team player of the year.
HIGH SCHOOL: A 2004 graduate of Westlake (Calif.) High School...the Los Angeles Daily News Offensive Player of the Year...a pre- and postseason All-America selection by Prepstar Magazine...listed as the No. 67 player in California by SuperPrep Magazine...listed as the No. 36 player in California and a preseason All-American by SuperPrep Magazine...rated as the No. 20 quarterback in the nation by rivals.com...played in the Cali-Florida High School All-Star game...statistics as a senior included 2,705 passing yards (163 completions on 262 attempts) and 36 touchdowns and only six interceptions...also rushed for 626 yards and seven scores...led Westlake to a Division IV Championship and a 14-0 season...lists that season as his most exciting sports experience...as a junior, was all-state, all-league, all-county, All-C.I.F. and league Most Valuable Player...completed 295 passes on 408 pass attempts for 3,200 yards and 32 touchdowns as a junior...also had 800 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns...also was the Most Valuable Player for Newbury Park's baseball and basketball teams as well...played at Newbury Park High School prior to his senior season...coached by Jim Benkert.
PERSONAL: Earned his degree (B.I.S., interdisciplinary studies) in May of 2008...parents are Scott Carpenter (construction) and Linda Stephen (designer) of Newbury Park, Calif....has five siblings: Garrett (19), Savannah (12), Ashtyn (10), Cheyenne (10) and Chad (2)...enjoys playing basketball and collecting shoes...born April 15, 1986...full name is Rudy Grant Carpenter.
CAREER HIGHS: Passing Attempts: 43, at Washington State (11/5/05). Completed Passes: 28, at Washington State (11/5/05). Passing Yards: 467, vs. Rutgers (Insight Bowl) (12/27/05) Passing Touchdowns: 5, vs. Nevada (9/9/06). Longest Pass: 69 yards to Matt Miller, vs. Washington (10/29/05). Longest Touchdown Pass: 69 yards to Matt Miller, vs. Washington (10/29/05). Net Rushing Yards: 49, at USC (10/14/06).
