WE GOT YOUR BACK The ultimate fantasy back nine for Valley golfers

PHX

SEPT 2008

Game Over. Game On.

BACK FROM BEIJING
Nike’s Vada Manager
CALLING ALL BALLERS shares his amazing
Joe Bryant (Kobe’s Dad) might Olympic scrapbook
have a spot for you on his
Phoenix ABA Team
PIGSKIN SAVANT
You might like football.
XTRA Sports 910
morning host Mike
Jurecki lives for it

THE WHEEL DEAL

Roller Derby is rough, tough
and thriving in the Valley

DIRECT HIT
Superstar movie producer
and director Ron Shelton
(Bull Durham, Tin Cup) has
deep Arizona roots ASU
PASSING
MARKS?
R.I.P.
QB RUDY CARPENTER
PLUS IS TEARING UP THE
//SUNS’ TOP PICK ROBIN RECORD BOOK — AND
LOPEZ’S BUSY SUMMER LEADING THE SUN
//PGA GOLFER CHEZ REAVIE IS DEVILS IN HIS OWN
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 Rudy Carpenter
SEPTEMBER 2008
i

He’s on pace to break every passing

record ASU has in their deep and storied
record book, and Rudy Carpenter

Rudy!
is going to do it in his own unique,
attention-getting, highly-entertaining,
opponent-agitating, winning style.

Rudy!
Rudy! By Zack Simon
PHOTOS BY TRACY RASINSKI
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 Rudy Carpenter
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SEPTEMBER 2008
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here are some things you kind
of take for granted here in the Valley, despite how out of the ordinarily spectacular
they might be, especially compared to how things are in the rest of the country.
The weather eight months out of the year would be one thing. The quality of the
Phoenix Suns Dance Team would be another. Sunsets. The majesty and beauty
of the Grand Canyon. And darn good quarterback play at ASU.
Yeah, the Devils have had a lot of great quarterbacks over the years, but
the one they have right now has decided to take the team’s century-old record
book and do a complete rewrite on it. Rudy Carpenter moved to Tempe from
his hometown of Westlake, California, as a talented, self-confident 18-year-old
freshman with a strong arm, strong will and cocksure swagger. He’s beginning
his senior season with the Sun Devils with the same attributes, only they are all
more prominent. He’s grown into a mature young man, and he has three years
of mega-success in the Pac Ten behind him. Our advice to you: Enjoy his final
season as much as you can. Because for all the ups and downs, there are not a
lot of quarterbacks like him. He holds the keys to the bus of ASU’s drive to a
conference title. If you feel like the time’s flown by since his first game back in
2005, so does Rudy.
“It really does seem like yesterday when I was checking into my new dorm
room as a freshman,” the senior quarterback told POST. “However, when I look
back on my time here, it also does seem like it has been five years because so
many events have happened.”
Here’s one of the events that hasn’t gotten a lot of hype but speaks a lot about
Rudy’s commitment and focus: He already has his degree in interdisciplinary
studies. He picked up his diploma last May, which means from now until New
Year’s his focus can be exclusively on playing ball — and having a ball — in his
final months in college. “For sure, having my degree does take tons of pressure
of me as far as academics go. I think it will allow me to concentrate on football
more. I also do think that being done with school will allow me to have some
more fun during my senior season. I will be able to enjoy myself a little more,
and enjoy my off time.”
Rudy Carpenter was born to play quarterback. He just seems natural and at
home with a football in his hand, standing in the pocket. One of the things that
separates him from most QBs in the country is his toughness. In order to break
records, you can’t break any bones. And he’s been taking snaps for 31 straight
starts — an amazing thing considering how hard opposing teams come after
him and how difficult it is to stay healthy at the Division I level. That’s not to
say he hasn’t been banged up and hurt over the past three years; it just would
take a lot more than sprains, strains, bumps and bruises to keep him off the
field. And because of that, he’s online to do some very special things this season
individually. All of which, according to Rudy, take a back seat to the one thing
he really wants: to be the third Sun Devil quarterback to start that early January
game in Pasadena that some people call the granddaddy of all bowl games. “I
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am obviously aware of all the records I have a chance to break. And yes, I really
can’t lie; having those records does mean a lot to me because I have worked
really hard to be successful at what I do,” Rudy told POST. “However, I will say
having all the records would be fun and nice to talk about, but honestly, helping
my team win a lot of games and having an opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl
would mean more to me than anything.”
And you can imagine why it would be even sweeter for a guy like Rudy to
end his college career exactly where he came from, Southern California. A short
distance geographically from Tempe, but a world away when you consider that
Rudy grew up in the heart of Trojan and Bruin country.  “To be honest, I really
didn’t know a ton about the tradition of QBs at ASU until I got here. Growing up
in Southern Cal, I followed UCLA and USC a great deal, and I knew a lot about
their football traditions. Once I got to ASU, I really did kind of pride myself to
learn about the great history here, and also the QB tradition. Obviously guys
like Danny White, Mark Malone, Jeff Van Rapphorst, Paul Justin, Jake Plummer
and Andrew Walter have all been great Sun Devils and in some way or another
have affected me in so many positive ways. I am so appreciative for that,” Rudy
explained to POST. 
That last quote showcases a side of Rudy Carpenter that fans at other Pac-10
schools might not get to see, nor should they. He truly is a respectful young man
who understands where he came from. Ask people in Berkeley, Tucson, Eugene,
Pullman, Corvallis and various other West Coast locales and they’ll describe
the Devils’ QB as cocky, feisty, arrogant, annoying, and a few other words we
probably wouldn’t be allowed to print. Which means he’s doing his job. You
see, Rudy isn’t wasting a lot of time trying to win friends in those places. He’s
just trying to win games. So yes, he’s an instigator, a lightning rod, if you will,
who garners the ire of opposing fans on a weekly basis. But that seems to be
something he truly thrives on, and is one of the main reasons his name will take
top billing in that aforementioned Sun Devil record book.
“You know, that really is a true statement [being a lightning rod] and it
is something that I do feed off of before the game starts. But once the game
begins, I forget about all that and really focus in on playing the game and
executing the game plan.”
It’s kind of like an alter ego emerges when he puts on the pads. Goodbye
easygoing, mellow SoCal dude. Hello brash and bombastic bombardier. “To
be honest with you, I am a very quiet and shy person. But I will say that yes, I
do feel like I am an emotional person off the field, especially when it comes to
my family and friends and also when it comes to issues that I really care about,
such as politics.”
We’ll save discussions about his political leanings until next year, when he’s
playing in the NFL. Right now, he’s hoping that all the long hours and sweat
equity he invested over the summer pays off. All he really did is work out and
prepare for the season, and spend as much quality time with his family and
friends as he could. Even with his Southern California roots, the Valley has
certainly become his second home. He’s treated like a rock star on campus, and
his allegiance to pro teams has shifted since he’s arrived in Phoenix. “Southern
Cal will always be home to me and I love it there, but I can honestly say that I
have become a huge fan of all the Arizona pro teams. I love the Suns, especially
now that they have Shaq, and I enjoy watching the Diamondbacks play. I’m also
a Coyotes fan because I had a chance to spend some time with Wayne Gretzky
this summer and he is a great guy.”
So enjoy him while you can, Sun Devil fans. The Rudy Carpenter story is
beginning its final chapter in Arizona. And if the rest of his career is a guidepost,
it’s going to be suspenseful, thrilling, and yeah, maybe a little melodramatic
along the way. There are going to be records broken and hopefully a lot of
wins. But Rudy Carpenter playing quarterback at ASU is going to be like those
beautiful fall, winter and spring days here in the world’s best sports town: You
enjoy the heck out of them while they’re here, and you sure do miss them when
they’re gone.
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