Derek Carr is set to play at Bakersfield Christian in 2008. Carr, at 6'3" 200 lbs, has started the past two years in Texas at Clements High-Fort Bend, where his team went 13-1 this past season and fell two wins shy of reaching the Class 5A, Division II state championship. He passed for 1,622 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2007.
Posted by Bryant-Jon Anteola, The Fresno Bee on May 27, 2008 Brother Says He'll Follow
Ex-Star Carr to Fresno StateAnother era of Carr football appears to be on the horizon at Fresno State.
Derek Carr, the younger brother of former Bulldogs great David Carr, said he has given an early oral commitment to play at Fresno State -- becoming the program's first recruit of the 2009 class and bringing a last name that ignites heyday memories under coach Pat Hill.
"It feels right -- it feels like home," Carr said Monday in a telephone interview from Texas. "I sat down with my dad and brothers and went through every situation: If this school offered me, if that school offered me.
"And when we went through them all, I decided I'd rather go to Fresno State and be a Bulldog still. That's not going to change."
Though he hasn't been given a rating yet by national recruiting Web sites, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Carr said Fresno State officially offered him a scholarship Friday. By Sunday, he had accepted.
Carr said he also received offers from Southern Methodist and Utah, and was getting looked at by UCLA, USC and Boise State.
Carr has started the past two years in Texas at Clements High-Fort Bend, where his team went 13-1 this past season and fell two wins shy of reaching the Class 5A, Division II state championship.
He passed for 1,622 yards and 16 touchdowns last year, and 1,246 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2006.
But with his family moving back to Bakersfield, Carr will play his senior year at Bakersfield Christian, the defending Division V champion.
Carr said that had Fresno State not made him an offer, he would have held off committing anywhere until after his senior season.
He also said he does not plan to make official trips to any other campuses.
In fact, Carr hasn't even made an official visit to Fresno State, though he said that wasn't necessary.
"I'm definitely a Bulldog," Carr said. "I spent a lot of time growing up at Fresno State. I remember throwing balls with Jeff Grady, throwing routes to Rodney Wright and Charles Smith, having Joe Schey pulling me over the fence and carrying me after the games.
"It's the little things. It was awesome to be around. I want to be around it some more."
Carr was last in Fresno in September when David Carr's No. 8 jersey was retired during halftime of the Bulldogs' season opener.
David Carr might be the Bulldogs' most popular player in recent history, leading Fresno State to a No. 8 nationally ranking in 2001 and helping begin the program's identity as a BCS hunter.
"I know I'll be known as Dave Carr's brother there," Derek Carr said. "I've been doing it my whole life and I love it. But maybe one day, I'll get to do something great at Fresno State, too.
"Maybe they'll hang up my jersey. And maybe they'll call me Derek."
(Webmaster Note: The Warriors will visit Bakersfield Christian and senior Derek Carr on Friday, October 24, 2008, in Bakersfield.)
