Carpenter waited for his time; it might be now

By Hunt Palmer

Less than 24 hours after LSU offered a scholarship, Dylan Capenter committed.

Entering this season, his third in the program, he’d only played 54 snaps. Carpenter, a standout his entire life on the gridiron, was buried on a depth chart loaded with NFL talent like Sai’vion Jones, Brayden Swinson and higher profile recruits like Da’Shawn Womack and Gabriel Reliford.

“It’s rough going out of high school after playing every snap and then coming here and feeling like you haven’t played the game of football in like two years,” Carpenter said. “Now that I’m getting reps, I’m thankful and extremely grateful to play.”

The St. Amant product was a three-star recruit in the class of 2023. He drew collegiate interest early in his high school career when he was the Ascension Parish Defensive MVP as a junior. That led to a commitment to Louisiana-Lafayette.

Carpenter had further dreams that became a reality on one of the greatest nights in Tiger Stadium history. Hours before Jayden Daniels found Mason Taylor in the corner of the south end zone to clinch the upset of Nick Saban, Bryce Young and Alabama in 2022, the LSU staff offered Carpenter a scholarship.

He flipped his commitment almost immediately.

“The day after,” Carpenter said. “I love the staff over there at ULL, but playing at LSU was a dream of mine, so it was a no-brainer.”

The last three years have been a grind. Carpenter has stayed the course.

Swinson and Jones bolted for the NFL in the spring, and Womack transferred to Ole Miss which created upward space on the depth chart. Then, as part of the nation’s top transfer haul, the LSU staff brought in Patrick Payton, Jack Pyburn and Jimari Butler at defensive end to clog things up again.

Carpenter saw it as a challenge instead of a threat.

“That’s kind of the mentality I had,” Carpenter said. “I’m gonna stay here. I’m not going nowhere. If I can’t outwork them, then who am I to jump in the transfer portal? I believe that if I want to be the best player then I can play anywhere.”

Through six games, injuries have started to pile up.

Reliford suffered a subluxation of his shoulder against Southeastern Louisiana. He’s missed the last three weeks and will miss more time. Butler sprained his ankle against South Carolina and is officially questionable for Saturday at Vanderbilt.

Carpenter is the next man up after Pyburn and Payton.

“It feels good,” Carpenter said. “We rely on each other a lot. If one goes down, I know that somebody’s got my back. I hope they feel the same with me. We’ve all worked toward the same goal. We’ve all made each other better, so I feel like this is a good thing we have going with the group.”

Saturday against South Carolina, Carpenter logged 14 defensive snaps, his most in an SEC game. That number figures to go up this week against Vanderbilt should Butler miss the game.

The Commodores lead the nation in yards per carry and feature an option offense that is designed to put stress on edge defenders and their discipline. Senior quarterback Diego Pavia is the conductor of that offensive symphony.

“I feel like it’s a good matchup now because we kind of experienced it last week (against LaNorris Sellers and South Carolina),” Carpenter said. “(Pavia) just really escapes and is elusive. He’s really smart. He makes the right plays at the right times. He’s really quick. And he’s a small body, but he’s elusive. It’s going to be tough.”

“Tough” is relative. In one sense, it was tough to sit and wait two years for a chance. In another, playing against a Top 25 team on the road is a difficult assignment.

Carpenter relishes this task far more.

“I always trusted in myself and knew like I was capable of playing in the SEC,” he said. “I just feel like the growth had allowed me to gain confidence and allowed me to play freely. Of course I would have liked the play a lot earlier, but everybody’s time is different. God’s plan is different for everybody. I’m just extremely grateful that I see things working in my favor now.”