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Former ASU QB Sam Keller (Merged)

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methomps

methomps

an imbecility, a stupidity without name
Most bizarre football story I've read in a long time.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=72130

August 20, 2006
Keller leaves Sun Devil program
By Dan Zeiger
Tribune

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On Friday, ASU coach Sam Keller had named Sam Keller the Sun Devils' starting quarterback. TRIBUNE




Arizona State's high-profile quarterback competition, believed to have ended on Friday night, took an unexpected, bizarre twist on Sunday, with the winner of the duel quitting the team. Senior Sam Keller, who was named the starter over Rudy Carpenter, has left the Sun Devil program, sources close to the situation have said.

A school spokesman told the Tribune that ASU coach Dirk Koetter would have a "significant announcement regarding a player" after the team's practice on Sunday night.

According to a source, several players requested a Saturday meeting with Koetter in which Keller was not present. They expressed to Koetter their feelings that Carpenter should be the starting quarterback.

Last year, Keller threw for 2,165 yards and 20 touchdowns before succumbing to a right (passing) thumb injury. Carpenter took over and finished as the nation's pass-efficiency leader.

"I'm excited, happy and also humbled by it," Keller said on Friday. "It's a dream to play your last year and go for (a championship). The other guy deserved it as much as I did. It makes me feel good, and I'm enjoying it a lot more because I earned it."

In the 18 camp practices before Friday, neither Keller nor Carpenter had established clear superiority over the other. But Keller's seniority and the strong allegiance Koetter has for veteran players was a major factor in the decision.

"We went for the guy who is best for our situation now, and we couldn't make a bad decision," Koetter said. "I really hoped one guy would clearly outplay the other, and we had to do what we had to do. . . . The fact that Sam is a senior and hasn't redshirted, that was sacrificing something for the program. If it was flipped over, with Rudy a senior and Sam a sophomore, it might have gone the other way."

Carpenter threw for 2,273 yards and 17 TDs last year. The Sun Devils were 4-1 in games he started.
 
There's a more detailed story on ESPiN, and probably on a few other sports sites as well.

The essential details are the same. Keller won the spot, some of his teammates didn't think he should have it, Carpenter was rumored to want to transfer, then Keller quit. At least that's what I got out of it.
 
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ESPN with some more news on the story:

EDIT: Eh...on second thought it doesn't say much either...I'll keep it for the underarmor ad with Hawk on it though...

Reports: QB Keller leaves ASU despite winning job

ESPN.com news services




Arizona State appears to have changed quarterbacks again, and the move has little to do with touchdowns, completions or interceptions.
A source close to the situation has told ESPN's Joe Schad that Sam Keller, who was named the Sun Devils' starting quarterback on Friday, was not at practice on Sunday night and has left the team.
ASU coach Dirk Kotter said the program would have a major announcement after Sunday night's practice.
The East Valley Tribune had reported on Sunday that several players asked for a meeting with Koetter in which they said that Rudy Carpenter should have been named the starter. Koetter had admitted on Friday that the battle was a close one.
"This was such a close competition, I asked both the guys one night at Camp [Tontozona], if you guys want to do it, let's play two quarterbacks. I've done that before and I can do it again if you want to do it," he said. "They didn't want to do it, so I had to make a decision on one guy."
Unconfirmed reports indicated that the announcement that Keller would start prompted Carpenter, a sophomore, to consider leaving the program.
Keller started for injured Andrew Walter in the 2004 Sun Bowl when he threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns and was named MVP in a 27-23 victory over Purdue. He looked just as spectacular early last season, throwing four touchdowns in each of his first four starts and for more than 300 yards in four of his first six games.
But the Sun Devils lost four of their first seven games, and Keller threw five interceptions in a 38-28 loss to USC. Keller was then hurt during a 45-35 loss to Stanford.
Carpenter sparked the Sun Devils to a 4-1 record in their last five games. He threw for 2,273 yards and 17 touchdowns and led the country in pass efficiency (175.01). He was named MVP in a 45-40 victory over Rutgers in the Insight Bowl after throwing for 467 yards and four touchdowns.
Keller still has a redshirt season and also could play immediately at a Division I-AA school.
Without Keller, freshman Danny Sullivan probably will be forced to play as Carpenter's backup. Brett Boon and Dax Crum are the other quarterback options.
But the ASU source also told ESPN's Schad that Koetter is hoping Keller will change his mind and attend ASU's first day of classes on Monday.
ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach and the Arizona Republic contributed to this report.



Also See
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Keller passes up Carpenter to win ASU starting QB job
Arizona State coach Dirk ...







Click to expand...
 
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Well, Arizona State's QB situation behind Keller was a little better than Oklahoma's behind Bomar. :tongue2:

Seems like a bad sign that Koetter was that out-of-touch with the way the players thought about things, though.
 
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It would appear that Coach Koetter is out of touch with his team. When a quarterback does not have the confidence of his team, that team will not achieve all that it might otherwise achieve. Good coaching is not just tallying up performance metrics from the practice and game film, it's developing a holistic understanding of the team.

This situation should never have reached this point and Koetter will lose a lot of respect, from many ASU players and supporters, because although it looks like he's leading, in fact his lack of leadership as a coach has been exposed.
 
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I've bolded some interesting quotes from Koetter in this article.

usatoday

About-face at Ariz. State: Carpenter at QB

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — In an abrupt change, Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter has decided to make sophomore Rudy Carpenter the starting quarterback.
Senior Sam Keller, named the starter on Friday, was excused from the Sun Devils' practice Sunday night and is considering transferring to another school.

"It's simple. I made a mistake on the quarterback situation and I'm changing my mind," Koetter said after Sunday's workout. "We're going to start Rudy Carpenter. I've excused Sam Keller from practice to consider his options."

Koetter said he decided to make the switch on Saturday and told his team on Sunday afternoon.

According to the East Valley Tribune, several players requested a meeting with Koetter after the initial decision and told the coach they believed the job should go to Carpenter.

Neither Koetter nor Carpenter would confirm that the meeting took place.

"I talked to so many people about this," Koetter said. "This has been weighing heavy on my mind for a long, long time and I'm the one that
screwed it up. I have to live with it. I'm also the one who has to fix it."

Keller started the first seven games last season before going down with a hand injury. Carpenter came on to lead the country in passing efficiency, yards-per-pass attempt and touchdowns-to-interception ratio.

His performance led to a tight battle for the job going into this season.
Koetter had indicated that neither quarterback had outplayed the other in practice and that Keller largely was chosen because he was a senior. The coach said he had proposed going with a two-quarterback situation, but neither Keller nor Carpenter wanted that.

Last season, Keller completed 58% of his passes (155-for-264) for 2,165 yards and 20 touchdowns, with nine interceptions. Carpenter completed 68% (156-for-228) for 2,273 yards and 17 touchdowns, with just two interceptions.

On Friday night, Keller said he was "humbled" to get the starting job.

"It's a dream to be a senior and be able to play for all the marbles," Keller said at the time. "I'm very humbled by it because the other guy deserved it as much as I do."

The 24th-ranked Sun Devils open their season Oct. 31 against Northern Arizona.
 
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Kind of makes you wonder who is running the ASU program, (i.e. the warden or the inmates)?
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ASU coach Dirk Koetter has chosen sophomore Rudy Carpenter as the Sun Devils quarterback.


Keller weighs options after switch

Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 21, 2006 12:00 AM
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Saying he made a mistake 48 hours earlier, Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter reversed field Sunday night, making sophomore Rudy Carpenter his starting quarterback.

Senior Sam Keller, chosen by Koetter as the starter on Friday, was excused from practice to evaluate his options. He can return as Carpenter's backup, transfer to a Division I-A school then sit out and play next season or transfer to a Division I-AA school and play immediately.

Keller was not available for comment Sunday night. His father Mike did not immediately return a phone call.

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"It's simple," Koetter said. "I made a mistake on the quarterback situation and I'm changing my mind. Whatever Sam decides to do including return to the team, we wish him the best."

Koetter was not expansive on why he changed his mind or the timetable other saying he was convinced of the need to switch by midday Saturday.
"I have to do what's best for Arizona State's football program, first and foremost," he said. "How this came about, all the rumor and innuendo, it really doesn't matter. I chose to switch quarterbacks and we're doing it."

Koetter did solicit opinions from a player leadership group in a meeting that senior wide receiver Terry Richardson said originated as a "mutual thing."

"We wanted to share with him how the team felt about the situation, speaking on the team's behalf so he could know," Richardson said. "He's not a psychic. He doesn't know what the team feels. He doesn't know what the team wants. We just gave him a better vibe of everybody's attitude about the whole situation.

"It wasn't necessarily negative (about Keller). It just kept going back and forth about one guy and the other. He's good at this, he's good at that. It went on and on. He said, OK I've got enough, thank you guys and went back into his chamber and made his decision."

Carpenter met with Koetter on Saturday. He admitted to considering transferring after learning he would play behind Keller. "Sometimes people make decisions out of frustration or out of spite or because they're mad. I told coach Koetter how I felt. He told me how he felt. I said I respect the decision you made because that's your choice, that's how it goes. I said I was going to try to be the best teammate I could and I was going to try to do that. There are always things running through your mind. Whether your act on them is different."

Carpenter took a heavy dose of criticism after transferring from Newbury Park (Calf.) High School to Westlake for his senior season in 2003.

"I didn't know how to react (on Friday)," he said. "I felt like I'm going to go to this scrimmage and play good and show everybody why I should be the starting quarterback or I might not even go at all. I didn't know how to feel. My mom told me you know what's right, be a man about it, go out there and show up, do what's right for your teammates.

"I played well (12-of-21, 342 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 rushing TD), but I was still a little angry, a little frustrated. I told my mom this morning wherever I go crazy things happen and nothing is ever easy for me, but I guess that's just the road God gave me."

If Keller leaves, the Sun Devils are transformed from having arguably the best quarterback depth in the country to minimal depth.

Koetter said true freshman Danny Sullivan would not redshirt and be Carpenter's backup. Other available quarterbacks are redshirt freshman walk-on Brett Boon and walk-on freshman Dax Crum.

"Before you had two All-Americans in front of you and now the situation picks up big-time," said Sullivan of Los Gatos, Calif. "Now you have to learn speedy offense at their pace. They're not going to treat you like a freshman any more. They've told me that. You could be one play away. You could be playing against USC. What freshman expects to be doing that."

Andrew Walter in 2003 is the only ASU quarterback in the last nine seasons to start every game. Keller started seven last year before a season-ending ligament tear in his right thumb. Carpenter played well enough in the final 5 ½ games to finish as the national passing efficiency leader.

Carpenter had the edge in the spring practice over Keller, who returned sooner than expected to participate. Koetter put the job up for grabs during fall practice, which began Aug. 4, and cited Keller's loyalty to the program as part of the reason for choosing him as the starter. Keller played as a true freshman backup to Walter in 2003.

Keller replaced injured Walter at the end of the 2004 season and was most valuable player in a Sun Bowl win over Purdue. Carpenter was MVP of a 2005 Insight Bowl win over Rutgers.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/0820asufootqbs.html
 
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Mandel hits Koetter rather hard in his SI blog.

si.blog

8/21/2006 12:39:00 PM
Dunce Cap for Dirk


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Dirk Koetter's unbelievable indecisiveness could end up hurting Arizona State for years to come.
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images


In last week's Mailbag, I said I didn't think Arizona State's high-profile quarterback competition between Sam Keller and Rudy Carpenter would become a distraction. But that was before head coach Dirk Koetter botched his handling of the decision worse than I ever could have imagined.

Following a scrimmage Friday night, Koetter announced that Keller, who threw for 2,071 yards in seven games last year prior to a season-ending injury, would be this year's starter. No real surprise there. Less than 48 hours later, however, Koetter reversed field Sunday and gave the job to sophomore Carpenter, last year's national pass efficiency leader. Keller, not surprisingly, is now looking to transfer. "It's simple," said Koetter. "I made a mistake on the quarterback situation and I'm changing my mind."

You made a mistake?? Between spring ball and fall camp, Koetter had more than 30 practices to evaluate his quarterbacks. He's seen plenty of both in game action. What could possibly have transpired in a 48-hour span to change his mind? Well, apparently he had a sit-down with 16 of his veteran leaders on Saturday and was surprised to find out his players don't have nearly the same respect for Keller as their coach. At least that's what we can surmise, because it was the meeting, not film evaluation or scrimmage performances, that caused Koetter to pull a 180. According to Arizona Republic columnist Paola Boivin, "Whatever issues [Koetter's] players brought up to him had to do with issues off the field."

Mind-numbing. That's the only way I can describe this. In the span of 48 hours, Koetter went from having one of the greatest coaching luxuries imaginable -- two quarterbacks capable of starting anywhere in the country -- to one colossal nightmare, all because he was apparently completely out of touch with the climate in his own locker room. "He's not a psychic," senior receiver Terry Richardson said in defending his coach. "… He doesn't know everything going on with the team, what it's feeling. I think his move was a smart move."

Koetter has been a divisive figure throughout his six-year tenure in Tempe -- many feel he should have been fired last year after it was revealed he failed to heed warning signs about troubled running back Loren Wade prior to the player's murder arrest in the shooting death of former Sun Devil Brandon Falkner -- and following this snafu, he's officially on thin ice. As is usually the case with these things, all will be forgotten if ASU makes a run at the Pac-10 title. But if Keller bolts and Carpenter struggles, or if the Sun Devils implode like they did last season, you better believe his bizarre reversal will become a season-long storyline.
 
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I'm very curious to see if it ever comes out as to why the players wanted carpenter so bad. you would think that they would be ok with a senior leading their team, but obviously not. that is really the only part of the story left to find out. i don't fault the coach for changing his decision. i have been on a team before when everyone has expressed feelings as to who they think should be on the field and the coach won't listen. that causes much more stress on the players as the season rolls on than changing as soon as you realize you messed up. it causes drama in the short term but a week or two down the road the team will be much better off for it IMO.
 
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