Sometimes an athlete needs to lose weight to get into better playing shape. That wasn’t quite the case for University of Maine football linebacker Noah Carpenter from Greene.
Carpenter was a quarterback and a safety on his high school team at Leavitt Area High School in Turner. He is a former Gatorade Player of the Year and Fitzpatrick Trophy winner, which goes to the state’s top senior football player.
And he was a quarterback last season when he was a freshman at UMaine.
But last winter, the decision was made to switch him to linebacker. And that meant he needed to bulk up.
Carpenter explained how he entered his freshman year at 205 pounds and put on 25 in a short amount of time to get to 230.
“It was pretty hard. The first couple of months after I put on the weight, I felt really slow. This summer, I worked on getting leaner and maintaining my weight,” Carpenter said. “It was definitely difficult. There were nights I didn’t want to eat that much but I knew I had to get up to that weight to be able to play.”
UMaine head coach Jordan Stevens said Carpenter is “built like a linebacker” and has the mentality the Black Bears want on the defensive side of the ball.
Carpenter has played in three of four games so far this season. An ankle injury sidelined him for one game, and has been involved in seven tackles, including five solo. He also plays on most of the Black Bear special teams.
“He has been awesome. We think the world of him,” Stevens said. “Just his character and his leadership … he is going to be a player here for a long time.”
Stevens used him sparingly last week in the 45-17 loss at Georgia Southern because he was coming off the ankle injury. But Stevens said his role will increase in Saturday’s home Coastal Athletic Association game against North Carolina A & T because he is healthier.
Stevens called Carpenter a “smart, tough, instinctual” linebacker who communicates well.
“He is loud. He loves football. He just flies around,” Stevens added. “He’s a kid who would excel in any sport.”
He rushed for 3,130 yards and 54 touchdowns in his career at Leavitt and completed 243 passes for 4,885 yards and 54 TDs. As a safety, he was involved in 242 tackles and had eight interceptions, six forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
He also converted 53 of 61 point-after-touchdown kicks and was 5-for-5 in field goals.
He led Leavitt to a 29-1 record and two state Class C titles.
Carpenter admitted that his freshman season in Orono was frustrating.
“As a quarterback, I was buried in the depth [chart],” Carpenter said. “I played my entire high school career and have never been a sit-on-the-bench-and-support-the-team kind of guy.”
When he met with Stevens and the decision was made to move him to linebacker, Carpenter never looked back.
“I took every second and ran with it,” Carpenter said. “This past year has been really fun learning a different side of the playbook and meeting guys on the different side of the ball.”
He made significant strides during spring ball and kept learning the position.
One thing he discovered is there is a lot more preparation than in high school.
“It’s a lot different. In high school, you could get away with not watching as much film because you could rely on your athleticism to help you,” Carpenter said. “Here you watch film day in and day out. It helps prepare you better for what you see in the game.”
Carpenter is used primarily in third down situations on defense along with being on special teams.
He said it is “truly amazing” being from Maine and playing at UMaine, calling it a blessing.
“Growing up, I never thought I would come and play Division I football at the University of Maine even though it was a dream of mine. I never thought it would happen,” Carpenter said. “I’m loving every second of it.”
He hopes other players in Maine realize that they can play at the next level and follow their dreams.
The 6-foot-tall Carpenter wants to keep “ripping it up on special teams” and continue to develop as a linebacker.
“The coaching staff here does a great job making sure you have something to learn each and every day,” Carpenter said.
