Walker was born June 3, 1893, in Newnan, Georgia, to Starling V. Carpenter and Glenn L. Camp.

Carpenter entered The Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall of 1914, elected president of the freshman class.

[4] His first year on the football team saw Carpenter suffer a serious injury during the Georgia game which caused him to have one of his kidneys removed.

Carpenter would be a starter the next year for the famous 222–0 defeat of Cumberland in 1916 He was captain of one of Tech's greatest teams in 1917, winning a national championship and outscoring opponents 491–17.

[7] He was responsible that year for training new recruits Si Bell, Bill Fincher, and Dan Whelchel.