Bordow: Which Rudy will show up?

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter should have no trouble answering the question. Did he have any fun last season?

Let’s see. Carpenter started all 13 games for the Sun Devils. He threw for 2,523 yards and 23 touchdowns. He led ASU to its third straight bowl game, the first time that’s happened since 1971-1973.

There should be plenty of moments from which to choose.

Yet Carpenter has to think about it for a few seconds. Finally, he says weakly, “Beating UA.”

That’s it?

A 14-point win over a mediocre Wildcats team was his only source of joy?

“It was hard for me last season,” Carpenter said. “The first game of the year, I found myself trying to get excited. I was like, 'Man, this situation isn’t any good.’ ”

It wasn’t just the messy resolution of his battle with Sam Keller for the starting job that had Carpenter down. Nor was it the fact he knew some of his teammates had been in Keller’s corner and weren’t thrilled he won the job.

Carpenter felt suffocated. He always had been hard on himself, and coach Dirk Koetter added to the burden with his harsh manner and exacting demands.

“Even when I didn’t have to worry about getting the job, I still had that feeling I had to be perfect,” Carpenter said.

That pressure — and Carpenter’s angst — dissipated the moment Dennis Erickson was named ASU’s coach.

The more easygoing Erickson is Carpenter’s get-out-of-jail-free card. Carpenter no longer fears making a mistake in practice. He no longer looks over his shoulder every time a pass attempt is a few inches off.

Football is fun again.

“Coach Erickson knows I can play,” Carpenter said. … “That makes me feel more comfortable. I’m not so worried about all the other crap. These coaches are going to allow me to just play football. That’s the thing I look forward to the most because I didn’t get the chance to do that last year.”

It would be unfair to blame Koetter solely for Carpenter’s inconsistent play last season. There were several extenuating circumstances, such as the injuries to Carpenter’s hands and the inexperience of ASU’s wide receivers.

But there’s no doubt Carpenter let the demands of his job — and his coach — get to him.

“He had all that controversy and stuff he had to deal with, and he was trying to force things,” Erickson said. “There was a lot of pressure on him.”

If Koetter’s ears aren’t burning yet, they will be after he hears this: “Offensively, when you put everything on the quarterback that happens,” Erickson said. “We try not to do that.”

Zing.

Even if tailback Ryan Torain has the lead role in ASU’s offense, however, Carpenter needs to play better than he did in 2006.

He didn’t look — or play — like the freshman who led the nation in passing efficiency in 2005. He made too many poor throws and bad decisions. His throwing mechanics were faulty as well; his release point was too low, leading to blocked passes at the line of scrimmage.

The fault was not all his own. But enough of it was so that there’s still some question as to who’s the real Rudy: The kid who looked like the next big thing in ’05, or last year’s broken-down model?

“I think I’m going to be a lot better,” Carpenter said. “Everybody talks about my form. … I know there’s not many quarterbacks in the country who throw as pretty, I can tell you that. But what does it matter? I’m just going to complete passes, whether it’s right-handed or left-handed or kicking it there.”

Carpenter’s spirit got a booster shot at last month’s Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana, where he was a camp teacher. Several NFL and college quarterbacks were on hand — including Peyton and Eli Manning — and Carpenter discovered he could hold his own.

“Throwing-wise, in my opinion, I didn’t think there were a lot of guys who could throw the same way,” he said. “I came out of it much more confident. I got a chance to see Peyton and Eli and all those guys, and they’re all good quarterbacks, but when you go out there and throw with them and see you can hang with them, you feel better about yourself.”

That’s good news for ASU fans. So is this: Although Carpenter is on track to graduate in December and has considered a jump to the NFL if he has a standout season, he plans to remain a Sun Devil for the next two seasons.

“He’s real comfortable with where he’s at right now,” Erickson said.

Did Carpenter have any fun last season?

No, but he thinks he’s about to.

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Listen to Scott Bordow every Monday on The Fan (1060 AM) with Bob Kemp.