Derek Carr

Classroom

Carr was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 8 first-team in 2012. He was selected to the 2012 Mountain West Academic All-Conference team and to the 2011 Academic All-WAC team. Has a 3.413 GPA, majoring in recreation administration and leisure services management. He has already met all requirements for his degree and will graduate in December 2013. For a career outside of football, he would like to be involved with mentoring the youth.

Character

Carr is a team captain and as head coach Tim DeRuyter says, the hardest worker on the team. He is always in the weight room or up in the football offices watching film. Last season Derek overcame an injury to have one of the best seasons in school history, proving he can overcome obstacles. He played the entire 2012 season with a sports hernia, and despite the pain from the injury, was the 2012 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and was voted an All-American. Derek is married and he and his wife welcomed their first baby in August of 2013. In 2012 he went and talked to the Fresno Eagles Youth Football team to encourage the kids to play together and to play for Donovan Maldonado, a 7-year old Fresno Eagle youth player who was killed by a drunken driver while riding his bike. Learn more here.

Community

Derek has completed the most community service activities of anyone on the team. He frequently talks at schools from high school to elementary, teaching kids about how to make great choices, working hard and how faith plays a role. He has also volunteered at food drives to help the community, read story books to preschool children and visited the local children’s hospital to sign autograph and encourage young kids who are battling cancer. In addition to all that, he also volunteers at camps, coaching and sharing his knowledge of football while also educating the campers about proper nutrition, weight lifting and conditioning.

Competition

He was the 2012 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year after setting a new league-record with 4,104 passing yards. Sports Illustrated also named his an honorable mention All-American that season. Entering his senior season of 2013, he is the MW Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and is on the preseason watch lists for the Davey O’Brien Award, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the CFPA Quarterback Trophy Award. He is also a nominee for the 2013 Allstate AFCA Good Works team. He enters the 2013 season with the third-most touchdown passes of any active FBS quarterback. His 63 career touchdown passes against only 16 interceptions is the third-highest TD-to-interception ratio of any FBS quarterback returning in 2013.

Read more about Derek’s accomplishments, on and off the field, here.