Shane Carpenter entered fall camp this season with a new perspective and renewed purpose.

“In May I got baptized at The Bridge [Community Church] in Ruston,” said Carpenter, a redshirt sophomore tackle. “I had a calling on my heart from Christ and I found my identity in him. A lot of things have been testing me, lots of trials and enduring for the Lord. I have a higher calling on my life right now, and it’s helping out with everything I do.”

One of those trials for Carpenter has been the flooding in south Louisiana, which has not been kind to his family in Walker, LA.

“The flooding has heavily affected both my immediate and extended family,” Carpenter said. “A lot of things have happened in our family recently, but we have our faith. We have God, and he has a plan for us no matter what. We just have to find him and follow him—even if we don’t understand it right now, he has a plan.”

A very different challenge arose for Carpenter throughout fall camp in the form of two highly touted junior college transfers, Gewhite Stallworth and Joshua Outlaw. Since their arrival, the competition on the offensive line has heated up tremendously, especially at the right tackle position. Carpenter said he has embraced the added intensity.

“You gotta love it and keep it coming as much as possible,” he said. “It’s great to have those guys out here because competition makes us better. That’s the thing about it: we’re all getting better at the same time.”

Offensive line coach Robert McFarland said Carpenter has responded well to the added competition.