Razing Arizona
The big news in college football...Arizona State has sent its senior QB Sam Keller to the bench in favor of sophomore Rudy Carpenter. This will likely prompt Keller to transfer elsewhere (rumor has it he'll be running Callahan's offense at Nebraska next year), leaving ASU with a freshman backup QB.
Unless something happened behind the scenes that the public is not aware of, this is a bad move on general principle. Here's why:
(1) This sends a bad message to young QB's at Arizona State, as well as future recruits. It says that if you pay your dues, learn the system behind a more experienced QB (in Keller's case, he played behind Andrew Walter), and stick with the program, so long as you have some success on the playing field and show that you are capable of leading the offense...you still might lose your job to some kid if you break your thumb. Not very encouraging. Young gunslingers who want to go to a school with a pass-happy offense, take note: You are better off at Texas Tech.
(2) If you start Keller and he goes down, you have Carpenter. If you start Carpenter and he goes down, Keller has (wisely) transferred elsewhere, and you will find that the cupboard is bare, and ASU's season is over. Keller was the safer bet. By going with Carpenter, you are giving away your insurance policy.
(3) It was particularly bad form for Koetter to name Keller his starter and then yank the job out from underneath him a few days later. Once you have named your starter, that should be your starter...at least on opening day. If you aren't sure yet, then don't name a starter.
A much smarter move would have been to start Keller in the opener and pull him if he struggles. That way, you at least retain him as a backup. If he doesn't struggle, then there is no problem.
Carpenter would have waited for his turn. This is Keller's turn, and he can't afford to wait, so he is essentially being forced to transfer. Keller is a very good QB and likely will have a job in the NFL someday, and perhaps then he can look back on this situation and laugh. However, I don't think that ASU will be laughing, even if this move works out in the short run. This is going to hurt recruiting and hurt Koetter's rep as a QB's coach, and that will ultimately be detrimental to the program.
At a time when the Arizona Wildcats under Stoops lite are gaining strength and credibility as a threat in the Pac-10, this could be the beginning of the end of a respectable football program at Arizona State.
Unless something happened behind the scenes that the public is not aware of, this is a bad move on general principle. Here's why:
(1) This sends a bad message to young QB's at Arizona State, as well as future recruits. It says that if you pay your dues, learn the system behind a more experienced QB (in Keller's case, he played behind Andrew Walter), and stick with the program, so long as you have some success on the playing field and show that you are capable of leading the offense...you still might lose your job to some kid if you break your thumb. Not very encouraging. Young gunslingers who want to go to a school with a pass-happy offense, take note: You are better off at Texas Tech.
(2) If you start Keller and he goes down, you have Carpenter. If you start Carpenter and he goes down, Keller has (wisely) transferred elsewhere, and you will find that the cupboard is bare, and ASU's season is over. Keller was the safer bet. By going with Carpenter, you are giving away your insurance policy.
(3) It was particularly bad form for Koetter to name Keller his starter and then yank the job out from underneath him a few days later. Once you have named your starter, that should be your starter...at least on opening day. If you aren't sure yet, then don't name a starter.
A much smarter move would have been to start Keller in the opener and pull him if he struggles. That way, you at least retain him as a backup. If he doesn't struggle, then there is no problem.
Carpenter would have waited for his turn. This is Keller's turn, and he can't afford to wait, so he is essentially being forced to transfer. Keller is a very good QB and likely will have a job in the NFL someday, and perhaps then he can look back on this situation and laugh. However, I don't think that ASU will be laughing, even if this move works out in the short run. This is going to hurt recruiting and hurt Koetter's rep as a QB's coach, and that will ultimately be detrimental to the program.
At a time when the Arizona Wildcats under Stoops lite are gaining strength and credibility as a threat in the Pac-10, this could be the beginning of the end of a respectable football program at Arizona State.
posted by AdmiralLando at 4:31 AM
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