Fresno State Athletics
Derek Carr Jersey Retirement Press Conference Quotes
September 2, 2017
David Carr’s opening statement…
“I’m speaking for our family, friends and everyone who got to experience our career's here. It’s really cool to be here and see people that were here when I was playing here, and to see them as part of this program again shows what a special place this is. I have been all over the United States and so has Derek. We have seen a lot of football programs and communities. When we say Fresno is a special place, we really truly mean it. I grew up in the Central Valley and I was fortunate enough to play football here. For any high school football players that live in this area, this is where you should play. They are turning it around here, they are making it in to something. I once had Pat Hill sit on my couch and tell me that Fresno State could be a special place, and it is absolutely becoming that. This is an exciting time for this football program and this is an exciting time for our family to share this moment with Derek. Derek and I would come to Bulldog Stadium and throw the ball around and he would tell me that his name was going to up on the wall right next to mine. I kind of believed him when he said that. The crazy part is I never doubted him. To be here with him at this time is so special for our family. It’s going to be a fun night.”
On what Derek said to the team we he saw them…
Derek Carr: “Win. Just kidding, I didn’t say that. I told them that they are here for one reason, and not forget the reasons these coaches brought you here. It’s not to play on Saturday nights, or to come close, but not succeed, and that squeaking by is not good enough here. I let them in on a few secrets about my training and things that I did when I was in college. I told them at some point tonight they will here Derek Carr No. 4 and everyone is going to cheer, they are cheering because of what they saw on the football field. All the wins they were a part of and all the touchdowns they saw. Those aren’t the reasons I’m excited. I’m excited because of all the things they didn’t see, all the hard work I put in when no one was watching. To have the integrity to be who I say I am when no one is watching and do more than my coaches asked me to. God gave me a talent and an ability to throw a football, and I would be doing him a disservice if I didn’t give it all I had. I told them that if they do the right things, this program can turnaround really quick. You can make Fresno State the special place we’ve all tried to make it.”
On if it’s difficult to stay humble…
Derek Carr: “It would be if I didn’t have a foundation of who I am. David and our other brother Darren would never let me get a big head. My brothers are bigger than me and they still let me know my place. So no it’s not hard to stay humble because I have a foundation of who I am, and I developed that foundation here at Fresno State. I didn’t start my first two years because I wasn’t ready to handle it. I think it was the biggest blessing of my life that I didn’t play those two years because I grew up, I learned who I was in my faith and I learned who I was. I learned who Derek Carr was.”
On getting his jersey retired at a young age…
Derek Carr: "No, I didn’t think it would happen this fast. I thought that I had to be thirty-something. I didn’t know what the rules were on what age you had to be, but I’m glad that they shortcutted whatever rule there might have been. This is something that I have always dreamed of. When I sat in this room at the team meetings, the things that kept me focused were my faith in God and getting my name up on the wall right next to David’s. I don’t ever want to do something half speed. I don’t want to ever be just be okay at something. I wanted to leave an imprint and a legacy. I didn’t just want to be someone who played football here. I want to be someone for kids and fans to look up to. I think my parents and my brothers raised me right, so I want to share that."
On what it means to build a legacy for Fresno State, along with Paul George and Aaron Judge…
Derek Carr: “I talk a lot of trash in the locker room. We were the only school in the nation to have a Pro Bowler, MLB All-Star and a NBA All-Star in 2017. If you ask any of my Raiders teammates they know that stat. Fresno State is a special place, with special people. The same things that are said about David and myself, can be said about Paul George and Aaron Judge. They are good people. We all keep in contact and keep up with what’s going on in each other’s lives. Being a Fresno State Bulldog is being part of a family. It’s not just about sports. All past Bulldogs want to be a part of this community and come back to be a part of the programs. I want to support all the other programs as well, because it felt good when alumni did that for me.”
On what Derek expects his emotions to be during his jersey retirement…
Derek Carr: “It’s going to be so cool because when my name goes up there so does hundreds of my teammates that helped me get to this point. They can all have pride in this, we did this together. Being a quarterback is not an individual thing, I would not be here without my teammates. I talked to all my former Fresno State teammates today and they know that their names are going up there with mine. That’s the emotional part for me. I spent five years here, there are so many memories and a lot of hard work that brought me to today. To have my jersey retired tonight is putting the cap on finishing what David started.”
When asked to reflect on the 2013 season...
Derek Carr: “It was a confident group. There wasn’t a lack of confidence in anyone on that team, especially when we were playing at home in Bulldog Stadium. When we took the field there wasn’t a chance we were going to lose. Especially in front of our families, friends, fans and professors. To this day I still talk to every teammate on that 2013 team.”
When asked which Carr was the better college quarterback…
Derek Carr: “David was the better quarterback. What David did while playing for Fresno State put this program on the map. The teams that his team beat and the way they beat them became the legacy for this program. David Carr is hands down the better quarterback.”
David on Derek playing for Fresno State…
David Carr: “I had mixed feelings about Derek coming to play here. What we were able to accomplish here my senior year wasn’t just one person, it was all the players and the community that rallied around us. I didn’t know if that could be duplicated for him. I never pushed Fresno State at him during his recruiting process. He told me that he wanted to go to Fresno State and finish what I started. I had never thought about it that way, but that was the right mindset. I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted during my career, I expected to play in a national championship. Derek was a part of my team as anyone, you can ask any of my teammates. Derek would sit in here and take questions during press conferences before I came in. I would walk in and he would be sitting on stage answering questions about the coverage I was seeing. He was already in that mindset at a young age. Derek deciding to go to Fresno State was special for me, but what he was able to accomplish here was even more special.”
David Carr on Derek Carr the person…
David Carr: “It’s hard because I don’t want to sound bias, but I would be a Derek Carr fan even if he was not my brother. It would probably be the only jersey I had. I told my wife I would never wear another man’s jersey and his would be the only one I would wear. He does things on the football field that I am envious of, maybe because I helped him do some of that stuff, that may be why I like it, but the biggest thing is how he carries himself off the field and how I see he is with his teammates. How he is with people in our families, our cousins, and spends time with them. That is why I am a fan and I am a big supporter of what he is all about. Just getting a chance to watch him live his dream, but do it in the correct way, that is pretty special.
On why it is important to stay connected to Fresno State…
Derek Carr: “This place, it is just different, you don’t really know it until you come here. When guys leave, they see what kind of place it is, they see how the professors treat you and I could go on and on about each individual, but I’ll just say this as a whole, it never felt like I was away from home. Whether I was on campus, in the weight room, at another sporting event to support the other student-athletes. It really didn’t matter, that is the best way I can describe it. Once you are out of it, you see how special it is, but once you get out it, you see we were all so close and we still are.”
On desire to want to come to Fresno State…
Derek Carr: “I always knew I wanted to play here when David played here. I just remember watching David play here and I knew I wanted to play here. When we came back to see his jersey get retired, it was at that moment, I knew my name was going up there and I was going to do that too!”