Photo Courtesy of Fresno State Athletics

Quarterback David Carr led the ’Dogs to a No. 8 ranking in 2001 and is now in his eighth season in the NFL

When Pat Hill was hired as Fresno State’s head football coach, his first stop before even coming to Fresno was in Bakersfield.

Hill knew that he needed a quarterback to be a strong foundation for his new program and he needed a player to build around. His dedication paid off and he landed his guy – David Carr.

Carr spent two years as the starting quarterback of the Bulldogs, leading the team to a No. 8 national ranking in 2001 and was the first overall choice of the Houston Texans in the 2002 NFL Draft.

Carr is in his eighth year in the league and is the backup quarterback for the New York Giants, the third team he has played for.

The Collegian got to catch up with the former Bulldog signal-caller.

Q: When you were featured in Sports Illustrated in September 2001, the story said you were Pat Hill’s first recruit as Fresno State’s head coach. Can you tell that story in your own words?

A: Every other coach that had come to see me seemed like they were trying to be too good, you know, all dressed up. They were trying to oversell their school. Pat just showed up and basically told me and my parents that he was going to have a great football team. He told me that he wanted me to be a part of it. He was just being true. He took every question that we asked him, he gave us a straight-up answer, even if I didn’t want to hear it. In the end, it was more than enough to get me to go to Fresno State.

Q: Was your mind made up before Hill came to talk with you?

A: As soon has coach Hill contacted me and I talked to [former offensive coordinator] Jeff Tedford, I was probably about 90 percent sure. If they had shown just a little bit of interest, I would have shown up because I wanted to go there.

Q: When you run into Bulldog fans, do they still want to talk about the 2001 season?

A: Absolutely. The cool thing about what we did in 2001 is that it was as much for the guys on the team as it was for the Valley and the people there. I can go anywhere, from Bakersfield to Fresno, and people talk about it all the time. Everyone has a story about it.

Q: What was it like to go from the Central Valley to New York City for the NFL Draft?

A: New York City for me was like a whole new world. It was something that I had never seen before. I am actually driving through the city right now; it’s where I live now. Growing up in Bakersfield and Fresno, it’s something that you never see. The only grass I see out here is on the football field.

Q: How do you feel about the New York fans?

A: I think the fans in New York get a bad rap. People think they are really negative, but I think they are knowledgeable. They understand the game. They know whose fault it is and they know who deserves the credit.

Q: How did you handle your time with the Houston Texans and how do you feel about it now?

A: It was kind of a situation that we knew was going to be tough going into it, but I don’t think I realized how tough it was going to be. We survived for five years and we had some good times, but it has made me a better football player down the line. There is no substitute for all the experience I got there.

Q: How do you feel about the word bust? Does the word bother you?

A: No. It is funny how those things work out. You get drafted at the top of the draft because you’re a good football player, but then your team is probably terrible. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Over the last few years, I have played good enough so that I can sleep at night.

Q: What is it like being both the backup quarterback and the scout-team quarterback?

A: As a number two quarterback, you go through the whole practice week, you study, and then you go to game day and you watch someone else do it. That’s probably the hardest part. At the end of the week, you have all this knowledge of the opponent and you don’t get a chance to do anything with it.

Q: Last week, Billy Volek said he liked to emulate Peyton Manning as the scout-team quarterback. Any one player you like to imitate?

A: Brett Favre, that’s my favorite. Naturally, I think any quarterback enjoys watching Brett, but it’s great when you get the chance to emulate him and get away with the things he does. In practice, when the quarterback coach asks, “Why would you throw that?” I just say, “Brett threw it. He got away with it.”

Q: Would you consider yourself a Brett Favre fan?

A: Absolutely. I was a fan of him back when I was in junior high school and it’s funny that he’s still in the league.

Q: Will you be a starter again in the NFL?

A: Yes, absolutely. That is my goal. Hopefully I’ll be able to use all of my experience and help some team out. It’ll be exciting when I get that chance. Hopefully it’ll be after the Giants win a Super Bowl.