“It was just long talks with the family on Indiana with a new coaching staff,” he said. ”I felt like it was best for me to decommit.”
New offers started coming, and the one Carpenter accepted on Jan. 17 was Tulsa’s. He will sign his letter of intent on Feb. 7 and play for second-year head coach Kevin Wilson, formerly the head coach at Indiana and the offensive coordinator at Ohio State from 2017-2022. Wilson’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach is Steve Spurrier Jr.
Carpenter scheduled official visits to Tulsa, coming off a 4-8 season in the American Athletic Conference, and Jackson State. Carpenter visited Tulsa over MLK Day weekend and canceled his visit later in the month to Jackson State.
“When I went to Tulsa, I fell in love with the place,” Carpenter said. “They’re building something special, and the connection with Coach Wilson and Coach Spurrier just clicked, and that was home for me. And my parents loved it, so it was kind of a no-brainer.
“It was go find the best place. Sometimes you got to go far away to know who you are as a man. So going far away can help build me to the man that I’m going to be one day. It’s going to be tough leaving home, but it’s for the better.”
Wilson knew Carpenter from his time at Ohio State as the lead recruiter for the Miami Valley. So he already knew a lot of what he would get if he could convince Carpenter to leave the Ohio area. Wilson signed a 28-player class in December but no quarterbacks.
“He said he liked my accuracy, my arm talent, able to extend plays with my legs, my mobility,” Carpenter said. “He said he liked my leadership, my demeanor, how I carried myself off the field. He said he called a lot of people in Indiana and in Ohio and just asked about me, and he said that everybody had great reviews. So he said that it was kind of a no-brainer who he wanted to have as his quarterback.”
Carpenter knows the list of quarterbacks Wilson has helped develop since going to Ohio State, and he quickly listed some of them: J.T. Barrett, Joe Burrow, C.J. Stroud. And don’t forget Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields.
“The development speaks for itself,” Carpenter said. “Quarterbacks like to go play for him and get developed by him. I trust his ability and what he can do, so I can’t wait to get on campus.”
Fairmont Hall of Fame: Kathryn Westbeld, a member of Notre Dame’s national champion women’s basketball team in 2018. is one of six former Firebirds who will be inducted into the school’s hall of fame on February 10 at 1 p.m. in the school auditorium.
Westbeld (class of 2014) was first-team all-Greater Western Ohio Conference for four years.
Joining Westbeld are Jennifer Grady (2008) a state champion bowler as a senior and the first bowler to be inducted; Alex Gross (2007) a two-time football captain and all-Soutwest District first-teamer who played at Columbia University; Volker Krajewski (1963) a member of two state champion golf teams and one runner-up and was the team low scorer twice at state; Andrea Kelsey (2009) earned 12 varsity letters in cross country, swimming and track and was a three-time state qualifier in cross Country; Denny Priser (1959) was the boy’s basketball scoreboard operator for 26 seasons, girl’s basketball scoreboard operator for 19 seasons, football statistician for 16 seasons, girls swim coach for 10 seasons and the first OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity Award winner.
Dayton Christian football: Former Franklin head coach and Northmont assistant Luke Hurst was hired Thursday as the Warriors eighth head coach, replacing Adrian Sellers.
Hurst, who played college football at Anderson and Franklin and served as an assistant at the small-college level, was on Northmont’s staff from 2018-2021. His teams at Franklin the past two years finished 3-7 and 2-8.
Milestones: Springboro senior guard Will Yates, who will play football at Ball State, scored his 1,000th basketball point on January 26 in a 58-49 victory at Springfield.
Chaminade-Julienne junior wrestler Jeffery Blair recorded his 100th career victory last weekend at the Eaton Wrestling Invitational. Blair placed fifth in the heavyweight division at last year’s Division II state tournament.
Wayne junior Eric Pugh set the school’s indoor pole vault record at 16 feet, 8 inches this past Sunday at a meet at Wittenberg.
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