Where Are They Now? Jeff Carpenter
Jeff Carpenter: Blitzing into the digital age
Are you scared of the change? The consequences, the unknown, the risk? Would you leave your job to risk going all in on a new technology in a field you haven’t worked in? Well, the subject of this edition of “Where Are They Now” took that chance and decided to go headfirst into the digital age, forever changing how teams prepare to play.
Jeff Carpenter was born in a small town in Idaho and spent the first few years of his life there before moving to Council Bluffs, Iowa. His parents divorced when he was young, and his siblings were much older than he was, so growing up, it was mostly just Jeff and his mom. During these years, Jeff fell in love with sports, especially football. However, you could not play tackle football until the 8th grade back then, so Jeff would have to wait. In high school, Jeff would be a three-sport athlete and find success in track and field, basketball, and football. Jeff would mostly play fullback and linebacker but would occasionally see time on the defensive line. During his junior year at Abraham Lincoln High School, Jeff would gain the attention of multiple colleges, including Kansas, Iowa State, and Nebraska. In his senior year, Jeff made a few college visits, but after meeting Coach Osborne, he knew he wanted to be a Cornhusker. 
When Jeff arrived in Lincoln in 1973, he soon discovered he was 1 of 120 freshmen. This caught him off guard, considering Nebraska could only offer 45 scholarships. He would quickly learn how vital the walk-on program at Nebraska was. Back then, the freshmen were their own team. They had their own practices, schedules, and coaches. Nebraska’s freshman team would play five games against other Big 8 teams. This gave the younger players many opportunities to gain in-game experience and much-needed reps. During his sophomore year, Jeff would find himself floating between the 2nd and 3rd string on the depth chart as a linebacker. He would travel with the team but wouldn’t see much action until his junior year.
Once Carpenter was a junior, he would begin to play a more significant role on defense and on special teams. He saw a decent amount of playing time as both a weak and strong-side linebacker. His breakout moment would happen in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. Jeff made numerous plays on defense and special teams. Carpenter’s effort would help Nebraska beat No.9 Texas Tech 27-24 and finish the season with a 9-3-1 record. 
Entering his senior year, Jeff had been named the starting strong-side linebacker and would play well in the first five games of the year. However, in that fifth game, when Nebraska traveled to Manhattan, Kansas, to play Kansas State, Jeff suffered an injury to his right elbow. At first, Jeff thought it was just a nasty bruise, but after going to the medical staff, he was told it was a staph infection. He would then spend the next three days in the hospital having the infection drained and treated, ultimately missing that week’s game against Iowa State. The infection would not keep him out for long as he was cleared to play the Thursday before the Colorado game. Coaches told him that since he missed most of the practices that week and had 17 stitches in his elbow, he would not be starting that week. Then, three plays into that game against the Buffalos, the new starting linebacker would tear his ACL. Jeff was quickly wrapped up by the trainers and entered the game. Strangely enough, Jeff would go on to have the best performance of his career. Jeff would record one forced fumble and 16 tackles in the win over No.7 Colorado. This would earn him Big 8 player of the week. Carpenter would continue to be the starting strong-side linebacker for the rest of the year and be a support pillar on defense, helping Nebraska go 9-3 and earn a win in the Liberty Bowl against No.14 North Carolina.
After graduation, Jeff knew he wanted to coach, so Jeff would stay in Lincoln and help coach the freshman linebackers as a Grad Assistant. After his time as a GA, Jeff would remain in Lincoln as a volunteer and part-time coach and work with multiple position groups, including linebackers, defensive linemen, and the secondary. After a few years in Lincoln, Jeff ultimately decided it was time to move on and try to move up in the coaching world. So, in early 1982, Jeff accepted a job as the linebacker coach at South Dakota University and stayed in this role for two years. He would then get a job at West Texas State as an assistant coach, but every coach would be let go at the end of that season. This left Jeff in an unfortunate situation. Jeff’s wife had just taken a job in Denver, so Jeff decided to follow her there and take a local high school coaching job. Jeff would stay there for only a year because Ball State offered him a job as the linebacker coach. Carpenter stayed at Ball State for three years before he decided he needed a change. 
Jeff was contacted by an old friend back in Omaha, Nebraska. His friend told him they have a computer that can break down game film and transfer the data onto tapes. Carpenter was intrigued by this and ultimately accepted the job. His job was to install massive computer systems and teach clients how to run new computers nationwide. After installing units for a while, Jeff would dip his toes into sales. While in sales, Jeff was contacted again by another old friend who told him about a new digital editing system that multiple NFL teams had already bought. Jeff would be just one of twelve employees at the company, which would later be named Abbott Sports. The fact that film could now be broken down digitally meant they could have breakdowns and clips almost instantly. The amount of time, effort, and money this new system would save schools was game-changing. Schools across the country wanted it and would pay whatever the cost to give them an advantage over their opponents. Abbott Sports would be bought out, so Jeff decided to join a new company that was also in the sports technology business. Jeff would stay with them, working in various roles for over a decade. Eventually, that company was bought by Catapult, one of the world’s biggest sports technology companies. After the purchase, Jeff decided it was time to retire. So, Jeff moved to Florida to jet ski, walk the beaches, and enjoy the retired lifestyle. Jeff’s retirement would be short-lived because, after six months, Jeff decided retirement was too boring. Around 2018, a company in Atlanta specializing in recruiting and scouting software contacted Jeff. After a few conversations, he agreed to work as a consultant. When Jeff wasn’t working as a consultant, behind the scenes, he was helping build a new company called ANSRS that would change how teams prepared, called plays, scouted, and so much more. ANSRS uses new state-of-the-art AI to give real-time feedback, giving you a massive advantage over your opponent. Numerous D1 and NFL teams have already bought into ANSRS and use their system daily.
For now, Jeff sees himself staying with ANSRS for a few more years before he tries retirement again. When Jeff isn’t working, you can find him spending time with his family, enjoying Florida, or making trips back to Nebraska to catch up with former Huskers and watch the game. Jeff’s story is one of taking risks and embracing change. Jeff didn’t just walk into a new frontier of technology; he blitzed.
