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Carpenter is soaking it in
Former Lancaster player helping with Bearcats' latest run

BY JOE ARNOLD • The Eagle-Gazette Staff • December 8, 2009


Jon Carpenter

LANCASTER -- As a graduate assistant at the University of Cincinnati, Jon Carpenter essentially is a coach's Swiss Army knife.

The former Lancaster and Bearcat player does everything from break down game film to compile data to coach Cincinnati's scout offense or its first-team defense.

Although the duties might be considered work in every sense of the word, Carpenter refuses to call it that.

"This isn't work," he said. "No way. I love it."

Carpenter and the rest of the Bearcats still are buzzing after Saturday's last-second win against Pittsburgh that yielded the school's second consecutive Big East title and a game with defending national champion Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

"We're on cloud nine," he said. "We showed how we play football for four quarters and how we play Bearcat football under coach (Brian) Kelly."

Carpenter, a former running back and linebacker at UC, is in his second year as a graduate assistant. He's one of two Fairfield County ties to the Bearcats' staff. Tim Hinton is the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Cincinnati. Hinton's brother, Ron, is the longtime football coach at Amanda-Clearcreek.

For Carpenter, Saturday's win and the showdown against Florida shows just how high the Bearcats have risen in six short years. Carpenter played in all 12 games as a freshman at UC in 2004. Three years later, Cincinnati won 10 games and was on its way to becoming a national power under Kelly.

"What we've done has been to change the face of Cincinnati," Carpenter said. "When you sign your letter of intent, you trust in what you're doing as a 17- or 18-year-old kid. But you could just feel something coming on. I had a sense that this was going to be a great place to be down the road."

As soon as the Bearcats' coaching staff dissects film from Saturday's win against Pitt, Carpenter will help begin to break down Florida.

"I'm very anxious to get started," he said. "It's going to take a great deal of effort and work to get that offense down and emulate what they do. Obviously they have one of the greats in (quarterback) Tim Tebow."

Carpenter, a three-time Big East all-academic selection, graduated in 2008 with a degree in industrial management. He's since re-enrolled in graduate school at Cincinnati and is taking courses in education administration with the hopes of becoming a football coach.

"I love working under coach Kelly and getting to learn from all the coaches on his staff," Carpenter said. "That's why I'm in the business. That's why I'm getting ready to break down Tim Tebow and Florida's offense."

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