Rudy Carpenter Rudy Carpenter ( born April 15 , 1986 ) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League . He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2009 . He played college football at Arizona State . Early years . Carpenter led Westlake High School to a 14 - 0 record and the 2003 California Interscholastic Federation Division II championship . Carpenter was named the " Los Angeles Daily News " Offensive Player of the Year . He was also given a pre and postseason All - America selection by " Prepstar Magazine " . Carpenter was listed as the No . 67 player in California by " SuperPrep Magazine " and listed as the No . 36 player in California and a preseason All - American by " SuperPrep Magazine " . He was rated as the No . 20 quarterback in the nation by Rivals . com . He played in the Cali - Florida High School All - Star game . His statistics as a senior included 2 , 705 passing yards ( 163 completions on 262 attempts ) and 36 touchdowns and only six interceptions , and he also rushed for 626 yards and seven scores and led Westlake to a Division IV Championship and a 14 - 0 season . College career . 2005 . Carpenter started the final five games of his freshman season . During that time he was the most efficient quarterback in the country and led the Sun Devils to a victory over Rutgers in the Insight Bowl . The following fall , Sam Keller , whose injury allowed Carpenter to become the starter in 2005 , was named the starting quarterback by then - ASU coach Dirk Koetter . But two days later , Koetter reversed his decision and Carpenter was given the starting job . Keller subsequently transferred to Nebraska and Carpenter went on to have a less than desired season . In 2005 , Carpenter earned second - team Freshman All - America honors by Scout . com and was named an honorable mention Freshman All - American by " Sporting News " . 2006 . Carpenter earned honorable mention All - Pac - 10 honors in his first full season as the Sun Devils starting quarterback . Carpenter completed 184 - of - 332 passes for 2 , 523 yards and 23 touchdowns and finished third in the Pac - 10 Conference in touchdown passes as well as grossing 296 rushing yards ( 69 net yards ) . Carpenter completed 17 - of - 24 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns against Northern Arizona and threw a career - high five touchdowns against Nevada to go along with 333 yards on 17 - of - 26 passing . He totaled 248 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 21 - of - 37 passes at Colorado and threw for 177 yards and two scores at California . Carpenter attempted 75 passes over the course of five midseason games without an interception . He ended the season tallying 183 yards of total offense at USC , including a career - high 49 net rushing yards , one of which was a game - high sprint of 38 yards . Carpenter completed 14 - of - 15 passes against Stanford ( 93 . 3 pct . ) . 2007 . In 2007 , Carpenter lead the Sun Devils in the passer completion rating , compiling a 68 . 4 % completion average . Carpenter started in all 13 games , and made a bowl appearance in the 2007 Holiday Bowl against Texas . 2008 . Carpenter entered the season with 31 consecutive starts , the most out of any ASU Quarterback since Jake Plummer . Against the California Golden Bears on October 4 , Carpenter finished with 165 yards passing , including one touchdown pass and two interceptions . He injured his ankle in the final minutes and had to leave the game on crutches . The loss marked the Sun Devils ' first three game losing streak since Dennis Erickson ' s tenure as head coach . ASU lost their final game to Arizona in the Territorial Cup rivalry , giving Carpenter a loss in his final game and ending a three - year streak of Territorial Cup victories by ASU . Professional career . Dallas Cowboys . Carpenter was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys a day after the 2009 NFL Draft . He was waived on September 5 , 2009 and subsequently re - signed to the practice squad the following day . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Carpenter was signed off the Cowboys practice squad by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 23 , 2009 . In November 2010 , Carpenter was moved to the active roster of Tampa Bay as the third string quarterback . Following the completion of the 2010 season , he became an exclusive rights free agent . Carpenter re - signed with the Buccaneers on July 29 . He was waived during final cuts on September 3 , 2011 , and re - signed to the Buccaneers ' practice squad two days later . With an injury to Bucs starter Josh Freeman , Carpenter was placed on the active roster for the December 4 game against the Carolina Panthers . He made his first NFL game appearance in the game for one snap after Freeman ' s replacement Josh Johnson was shaken up on a play . Dallas Cowboys . Carpenter was claimed off of waivers by the Dallas Cowboys April 5 , 2012 . On August 20 , 2012 , Carpenter tweeted via his Twitter account @ rudygcarp12 : " Thankful for the opportunity Dallas its been great ! , " signifying he was being cut again . Kansas City Chiefs . Carpenter was reported as flying to Kansas City to work out with the Kansas City Chiefs January 20th , 2013 . Carpenter tweeted : " Flying to Kansas City on Thursday for a workout ! Just happy and thankful to maybe gettin back in ! "