Ronald Nelson Carpenter (born on June 24, 1948) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for seven seasons with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

North Carolina State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

Early life

Carpenter was born on June 24, 1948, in

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

. He attended

Thomasville High School Thomasville High School is a Public school (government funded), public secondary school located in Thomasville, Georgia, Thomasville, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is one of only a handful of city school systems left in the sta ...

. He played college football at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

football captain Jim Dearth said Carpenter was the toughest opponent he ever faced in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

, observing Carpenter's ideal combination of size, strength, agility and quickness at tackle.

Professional football

The Bengals selected Carpenter in the second round of the 1970 NFL draft (32nd overall). He played defensive tackle and defensive end for the Bengals from 1970-76. The Bengals' first round selection in 1970 was future

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

defensive tackle Mike Reid, whom Carpenter would play alongside at tackle from 1973-74, with Carpenter at right tackle and Reid at left tackle. They unofficially had 23 sacks between them in 1973. Carpenter has been unofficially credited with 45.5 sacks for his career, and had 10 fumble recoveries. In 1973, he led the Bengals' defensive linemen in tackles and was second in sacks. His highest sack total came the following year, when he tied for second most sacks in the NFL with 13. In 1975, he was tied for third in the NFL with four fumble recoveries. During a critical late November 1976 game between the Bengals and defending champion

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, played in heavy snow conditions, Reid blocked a Roy Gerela

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

attempt. However, the Bengals lost the game 7–3. His playing measurements were 6 ft 4 in (1.93m) and 261 lb (118 kg).

References

1948 births Living people American football defensive tackles Cincinnati Bengals players NC State Wolfpack football players 20th-century American sportsmen {{defensive-lineman-1940s-stub