Inside The Panthers

Pitt Flips Five-Star Preferred Walk-on PK Sam Carpenter

The Pitt Panthers flipped a five-star kicker from Massachusetts.
Stephen Thompson|
Pitt Flips Five-Star Preferred Walk-on PK Sam Carpenter
Pitt Flips Five-Star Preferred Walk-on PK Sam Carpenter

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH -- One of the top placekickers in the class of 2023 was headed to Indiana, but this week, the Pitt Panthers pulled off a flip on the Hoosiers. Sam Carpenter, who had previously given a verbal pledge to Tom Allen's program, has changed his commitment to Pat Narduzzi's. 

Carpenter, a native of Foxboro, Massachusetts, is rated as the No. 47 kicker in the class and a five-star prospect by Kohl's Professional Camps, the service ESPN uses to evaluate high school specialists. 

"Carpenter had a strong showing at the 2022 Underclassman Challenge," Kohl's wrote about Carpenter. "He has powerful hips and crushes his kickoffs. He charted 12 points in the field goal session and was impressive with his command and 'pop' throughout the camp. His big ball on kickoffs was competitive with the top players in the country. He has the leg speed and technical refinement to become one of the best kickers in the 2023 class."

His offer from Pitt is one to be a preferred walk-on, just like the one he received from Indiana. He had committed to the Hoosiers in June. Alabama, Michigan, Penn State and West Virginia had shown interest, among others. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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