http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...oms.day/1.html
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One thing that did happen, and which probably will define Koetter's entire ASU tenure, is his flip-flop decision to start Sam Keller at quarterback and then instead go with Rudy Carpenter.
"Most of everything that got out there initially was not true," the source said. "And it got perpetuated and repeated, and once that train gets rolling, you can't stop it."
Carpenter, a sophomore, never threatened to transfer, as was written on a number of Web sites. And the Sun Devils' Leadership Group, a collection of about 15 juniors and seniors, didn't go to Koetter and demand that Carpenter start.
According to the source, the Saturday after ASU's final fall scrimmage, one day after Keller was named the team's No. 1 QB, Koetter was informed of something that would force him to instead go with Carpenter.
"I cannot tell you where it's from, and I cannot tell you what it is," the source said. "We will never, ever tell that because it's private information regarding Sam, and we would never, ever say anything to put him in a bad light because he's a minor."
Koetter, in his regularly scheduled Leadership Group meeting that fateful Saturday, informed the team's veterans that he was going to have to make a very tough decision, which would be announced to the media on Sunday.
"He would have loved to have had that information prior to Friday," the source said. "If he'd have had that information, he wouldn't have made Sam the starter in the first place. But he didn't get it until Saturday. People assume that the information came from players. It did not. The players discussed this for the first time in their meeting. The players discussed it more and more, and even newer information came out, and everybody put two and two together -- and I can't really go further because I can't say what it is -- but it was as series of events that just happened. Dirk fell on that sword, took all the blame, all the heat, but he protected Sam and his family."
"Sam really wanted to stay," the source said, "but ultimately his father thought it was best that he transferred."
Whatever Keller's misdeed, which no one would confirm on the record, it apparently was bad enough that he immediately lost his starting spot at ASU, but not so bad that Nebraska didn't welcome him with open arms. More than a little bit curious. Is there any way Nebraska officials don't know the whole story? Do they care? Don't we? ASU is a public school. Sure, boosters kick in millions, but don't taxpayers deserve some sort of explanation?
Koetter, the source added, also told him that another reason he'd never disclose what Keller did was because "if Sam wishes to transfer, I don't want to say because I don't want him to not be able to transfer. If the other people knew, they might not take him."
"If you go back and watch Sam's first press conference at Nebraska," the source continued, "when they made him available to the media, watch how that goes. Sam is very humble, he's very appreciative, praising Arizona State for his time there, he enjoyed it, the coaches, the players. It was not the bitter guy [saying] 'I'm transferring because I've got to get out of there.' That tells you a lot right there, that maybe he was guilty of something and he just needed to be quiet."
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Weird it says Keller is a minor but I think he's 22 and was 21 when he left ASU so I guess it must have occurred before he turned 21 whatever it was?
Linear Mode
