Aug. 24, 2011
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Former Wyoming starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels is enrolled at Vanderbilt and will join the Commodore squad.
Carta-Samuels, a two-year starter at Wyoming and the 2009 Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules. He will have two years of eligibility remaining starting with the 2012 season.
Carta-Samuels threw for 3,655 yards and 19 touchdowns in 21 career starts with the Cowboys. He ranks ninth all-time at the school in pass completions (345) and 10th in total offense (4,413 yards).
Carta-Samuels also was an accurate passer at Wyoming, completing 59.7 of his 576 career attempts.
In 2009, Carta-Samuels guided Wyoming to a 7-6 record, capping the season by earning Offensive MVP honors in a double-overtime victory over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl, the Cowboys’ first postseason bowl appearance in six years. That season, he became the first Cowboy true freshman to start at quarterback in more than three decades.
In 2009, he completed 191 of 326 passes for 1,953 yards and 10 touchdowns, and guided the Cowboys to five fourth-quarter comeback wins.
In 2010, Carta-Samuels became just the second sophomore in Wyoming history to become a team captain. He hit on 154 of 252 passes for 1,702 yards and nine TDs that season, and ranked second on the team with 392 rushing yards.
Carta-Samuels was also a stellar student, twice earning Mountain West Conference All-Academic honors.
A native of San Jose, Calif., Carta-Samuels starred at one of Northern California’s most powerful schools, Bellarmine Prep. As a senior in 2008, he guided Bellarmine to a 12-1 record, No. 1 ranking in Northern California, and the Central Coast Championship.
