Fresno State went 4-9 in 2011, but it's hard to blame Derek Carr for that.
Carr threw for 3,544 yards, third-most in Bulldog history. And the most ever by a Bulldog sophomore.
"Darren, our middle brother Darren. You guys are like who's this guy? Darren can throw the ball way better than me and David both," smiled Derek at MWC Media Days in Las Vegas earlier this week.
"And it's hilarious."
"Does he have any eligibility left?" joked first-year head coach Tim DeRuyter.
Sorry, Coach. And neither does David, a former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick.
Derek, meanwhile, has two years left. That is, if he doesn't leave early for the NFL. The biggest difference: Pat Hill is gone.
"Coach Hill was like and is like a second dad to me. He always will be," said Carr. "When you lose someone like that who's been there for 15 years, it's tough. But Coach DeRuyter came in. I'm a Bulldog, more importantly, than a fan of Coach Hill's.
"I think he'd want it that way."
He'd certainly want Derek Carr to be successful.
"Coach DeRuyter, he's taught me how to compete through him and his strength staff, taught me how to compete at just a different level," added Carr. "He's taught me how to work hard at a different level. And I've learned so much just from Coach DeRuyter at practice, just from listening to him talk about the defense and about the schemes they run. That's made me a better quarterback just in the short amount of time I've been with him."
