Derek Carr (American football)

Derek Carr

Carr in 2015
No. 4 Oakland Raiders
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1991-03-28) March 28, 1991
Place of birth:	Bakersfield, California
Height:
Weight:
Career information
High school:	Bakersfield (CA) Christian
College:	Fresno State
NFL draft:	2014 / Round: 2 / Pick: 36
Career history
Oakland Raiders (2014–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
NFL Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week (Week 14, 2014) Oakland Raiders most passing yards in a season by a rookie (3,270, 2014) EA Sports All-Rookie Team (2014) College 2x All-America selection as a junior and a senior 2x Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year (2012, 2013) Sammy Baugh Award Winner (2013) 8th Place in Heisman Trophy voting (2013)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2015
Pass attempts: 1,172 Pass completions: 698 Percentage: 59.6 TD–INT: 53–25 Passing yards: 7,257 Passer rating: 83.7 Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Raiders in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State.

Derek is the younger brother of the number one overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft, and fellow Fresno State alumnus, David Carr.

Early years

Carr was born in Wineville, California, (now known as Mira Loma) the youngest of three children, to Rodger and Sheryl Carr. He and his family relocated to Sugar Land, Texas, in 2002 when his oldest brother, David Carr, became the first overall draft pick of the then-expansion Houston Texans. Carr and his family moved back to Bakersfield for his senior year, and he attended Bakersfield Christian High School.

Carr's high school football career began at Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas. After playing on the freshman team his first year, he became a backup quarterback on the varsity team as a sophomore. He didn't prepare himself to become the starting quarterback, but a preseason injury to another quarterback thrust him into the role.

Carr made gradual progress as a starter with Clements High School. He passed for 1,246 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore, and 1,622 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. While a junior, Carr led his team to an undefeated 13–0 season (playoffs included) before losing in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Class 5A Division 2 State playoffs in Region 3 to the (also undefeated) Katy High School Tigers, the eventual champions. Also during his junior year, Carr was heavily recruited. His college choices included Fresno State, SMU, Boise State, the University of Southern California, UCLA, and Utah. Of these schools, only Fresno State, SMU, and Utah made a scholarship offer towards Carr. Ultimately, he verbally committed to Fresno State on May 25, 2008, at the end of his junior year. Carr was the program's first recruit of the 2009 class.

Meanwhile in February 2008, Bakersfield Christian High School athletic director and former NFL player Doug Barnett confirmed that Carr would transfer to BCHS, amid rumors that he would have gone to nearby Stockdale High School or Bakersfield High School, two schools with historically good football programs.

As a senior, Carr led the Eagles football team to a 12–1 record and the California Interscholastic Federation Central Section Division V championship; the only blemish came at home against Oaks Christian High School, a national football powerhouse, during the team's season opener. On October 29, 2008, Carr was selected by ESPN RISE as the National Football Player of the Week after passing for 441 yards and three touchdowns in a game against Tehachapi High School five days earlier. Carr would eventually set a Central Section record by throwing 544 yards in a win against Arvin High School on November 7, 2008. Carr was also selected by The Bakersfield Californian as the 2008 All-Area Football Player of the Year. Derek Carr also set a new school record when he passed for 6 touchdowns and ran for 2 in a blowout win against small school Fowler High at home. After the game, reporter Mark Whaler asked Derek, "How did things click so easy?" Carr replied with, "It was like playing a video game. When a person sets their attributes to 99 all the way around, you can pass and run all over the team. Today just felt like a video game against Fowler High." After his high school football career finished, Carr was named the National Player of the Year by the National Private Schools Athletic Association in 2009.

College career

Carr enrolled as an early-entry freshman for the spring semester at Fresno State in 2009 so he could participate in spring football with the Bulldogs. Then-Fresno State head coach Pat Hill stated that Carr, a true freshman, was "in the mix" for the starting quarterback position as late as mid-July. However, days before the 2009 season began in September, Hill announced junior Ryan Colburn would start over Carr.

After redshirting his 2010 season, Carr took over the starting QB position for Fresno State in the fall of 2011. During his three years as a starter, he threw for 12,843 passing yards and 113 touchdowns.

He wore number 4 as an homage to his favorite NFL player, Brett Favre.

Carr received the 2013 CFPA Elite QB Award for his performance over three seasons at Fresno State. He joined fellow Bakersfield native Phillip Thomas as the school's second CFPA winner.

In 2013 Carr won the Sammy Baugh Trophy which is awarded annually to the nation's top collegiate passer. He joined Trent Dilfer as the only other Fresno State QB to win the trophy.

Professional career

2014 NFL Draft

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 3 in	214 lb	31½ in	9⅛ in	4.69 s	1.64 s	2.73 s	4.20 s		34½ in	9 ft 2 in		20
All values from the NFL Combine

Oakland Raiders

2014 season

Carr was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL Draft. On May 16, he was assigned his requested number of 4. On May 21, he was signed to a 4-year, $5.37 million contract with a $2.2 million signing bonus.

On August 28, Carr impressed the coaches and fans in the Raiders' fourth and final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, after coming into the game as backup to Matt Schaub and taking the Raiders down the field for three touchdowns in the first quarter, then throwing another touchdown on their next possession of the second quarter, before being relieved. For his short playing time in the game he went 11/13 for 143 yards and 3 TD's for a nearly perfect quarterback rating.

On September 1, Raiders head coach Dennis Allen announced that Carr would start over Matt Schaub in the team's opener against the New York Jets, and mentioned that the decision was not week-to-week; Carr would be the Raiders starting quarterback moving forward. Carr therefore became the first rookie quarterback in Raiders history to start a season opener, and was also the only rookie quarterback from the 2014 draft class to start in week one.

Carr made his first career regular season start against the New York Jets on September 7. During his pro debut, he passed for 151 yards and two touchdowns. The Raiders were unsuccessful during his debut and lost to the Jets 14–19. In Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium, Carr left the game due to a high ankle sprain and MCL sprain. He was relieved by Matt McGloin but the Raiders still couldn't find their momentum, losing to the Dolphins 14–38.

On October 12, in his fifth start of his career versus division the rival San Diego Chargers, Carr made history by setting a new Oakland Raiders franchise record for the most passing touchdowns in a single regular season game by a rookie with four. This surpassed the previous record of three passing touchdowns which was set by Matt McGloin during his rookie campaign in 2013 versus the Houston Texans. Additionally, Carr set single game personal records for passing yards by throwing for 282 yards, and for total passer rating which amounted to 107.7. Although Carr had a career day, the Oakland Raiders ultimately were defeated by the San Diego Chargers by the final score of 31-28.

On November 20, Carr won his first NFL game by leading the previously winless Raiders to a 24-20 upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders trailed the Chiefs 20-17 early in the 4th quarter, but Carr led them on an 80 yard drive that lasted just over 7 minutes. The 4th quarter comeback ended with Carr throwing a game winning touchdown pass that put them up 24-20 with just under 1:40 to play. The Raiders would go on to get their first victory of the season. On December 7, Carr led the Raiders to a 24-13 victory over the visiting San Francisco 49ers. Carr posted a 140.2 rating, the highest for a Raiders quarterback since 2001.

Carr finished his rookie season with 3,270 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He became the first Raiders quarterback to start all 16 games since Rich Gannon in 2002.

2015 season

On September 13, during the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, Carr exited the game early with an injury to his throwing hand. The MRI was negative and Carr returned to start in week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens. The Raiders won 37-33 to get their first win of the season. Carr had a career day as he threw over 350 yards and three touchdowns and most importantly threw the game winning touchdown to Seth Roberts with 26 seconds remaining. Carr continued his dominance into week three against the Cleveland Browns. He threw for 314 yards as he led the Raiders to a 27-20 win. Carr had another dominant performance in week 7 on the road against the San Diego Chargers as he threw for 289 yards and 3 touchdowns, putting up a career high 137.7 passer rating. Carr threw for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns and a 130.9 passer rating in a win against the New York Jets the next week. On December 23, it was announced that Derek Carr is an alternate for the 2016 Pro Bowl, meaning that he will be headed to Hawaii if any of the selected QB's become ineligible or withdraw from the event.

Career Statistics

High School Statistics

Year	Team	G	S	W	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Td	Int
2006	Clements (TX)	11	11	8	84	162	51.9	1,246	12	7
2007	Clements (TX)	14	14	13	117	205	57.1	1,622	16	8
2008	Bakersfield Christian (CA)	13	13	12	280	413	67.0	4,067	46	9
Career		G	S	W	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Int
3 Years		38	38	33	481	780	58.7	6,935	74	24

Statistics from Rivals.com

College Statistics

Year	Team	G	W	L	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Td	Int	Pass Effic.
2009	Fresno State	4	4	0	10	14	71.4	112	0	0	138.6
2010	Fresno State	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2011	Fresno State	13	4	9	279	446	62.6	3,544	26	9	144.5
2012	Fresno State	13	9	4	344	511	67.3	4,104	37	7	155.9
2013	Fresno State	13	11	2	454	659	68.9	5,083	50	8	156.3
Career		G	W	L	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Int	Pass Effic.
2009–2013	Fresno State	43	28	15	1,087	1,630	66.7	12,843	113	24	152.9

NFL Statistics

Season	Team	Games		Passing							Rushing				Fumbles
		GP	GS	Comp	Att	Pct.	Yds	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Fum	Lost
2014	Oakland Raiders	16	16	348	599	58.1	3,270	21	12	76.6	29	92	3.2	0	10	4
2015	Oakland Raiders	16	16	350	573	61.1	3,987	32	13	91.1	33	138	4.2	0	10	3
Career total		32	32	698	1,172	59.6	7,257	53	25	83.7	62	230	3.7	0	20	7

Personal life

Carr married Heather Neel on June 29, 2012. The couple have a son named Dallas (born August 5, 2013) who was born with a medical condition that tied up his intestines and required three surgeries to correct. On October 27, 2015, in an interview on the Rich Eisen Show, Carr revealed he and his wife are expecting their second child.

Carr is a Christian, and has said his faith is the most important thing in his life. Carr is also a lifelong Raider fan.

Carr's uncle, Lon Boyett, played for the Raiders under John Madden during the 1978 season.

See also

• List of Division I FBS passing yardage leaders
• List of Division I FBS passing touchdown leaders
• List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders
• List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders

External links

• Derek Carr on Twitter
• Official Website
• Oakland Raiders bio
• Fresno State Bulldogs bio