IRVING, Texas - Rudy Carpenter started a Division I record 43 consecutive games as the quarterback for the Arizona State Sun Devils, dating back to his freshman year in Tempe.
But since he signed with the Cowboys, well, Carpenter hasn't been so busy. He's taken just one snap in the preseason, kneeling out the clock against Tennessee.
Carpenter came to Dallas pigeonholed as the team's fourth quarterback. He wasn't going to beat out Tony Romo or Jon Kitna, and the club had invested a fourth-round pick in Texas A&M's Stephen McGee. Carpenter was an afterthought, a relief pitcher to spell the arms of the top guys in training camp.
With the Cowboys planning on resting their starters, and having played Kitna the entire second half last week, Carpenter is expecting to play most, if not all of Friday's game against Minnesota. Since he hasn't had much of a chance to show what he can do, Carpenter has a simple philosophy for his NFL debut.
"Sling it," he said. "It's what I did in college and it's what got me here, so I'm just going to keep on doing that."
A good showing could land Carpenter a place on a quarterback-hungry team. The reality here is that the Cowboys are unlikely to keep him over McGee, who missed the 49ers game with a sprained MCL, and will be out again Friday.
Final cuts come Saturday, after which Carpenter's future is up in the air.
"There's a lot of anxiety - there can be," the California native said. "But I knew the situation I was in when I was coming here. So since I've been here I've just tried to take one day at a time, one meeting at a time and just be grateful for the opportunity I'm given. Each day I'm here I'm happy."
Actually, with McGee unable to play for the time being, the Cowboys may want to keep Carpenter around while he heals. They need a quarterback to run the scout team once they begin preparation for games of consequence next week.
Carpenter should be able to emulate opposing quarterbacks as well as anyone. After all, he's spent the last few months taking bits and pieces from the veterans ahead of him. Romo and Kitna are good guys from whom to learn. So are quarterback tutors Jason Garrett and Wade Wilson.
"They've all done a great job coaching me and really helping me through the process," Carpenter said. "Especially Jon Kitna. I've become close with him and he's kind of just taken me under his wing and tried to show me everything he knows and help me as much as he can."
We'll see what all Carpenter has learned on Friday night. Despite going undrafted, he has a lot of game experience for a 23-year-old. That could be valuable to a team somewhere, if not the one he's been a part since the end of April.
Carpenter's preseason debut will be a good test of all the things he's learned since signing with the Cowboys.
"I think I've had a good camp to be honest with you," the rookie said. "I've done well throughout OTAs and mini-camp and now training camp. I just haven't had an opportunity to play.
"But I'll get one this week."
Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS
Josh Ellis - 
