Quarterback Derek Carr would rather not reminisce about his first year as Fresno State’s starter.
“There’s really a lot of hurt,” Carr said. “Nowhere close how I ever envisioned it would’ve been.”
Like many optimistic Bulldogs fans, Carr came into last season with grand goals of helping Fresno State capture that elusive outright Western Athletic Conference title and transforming the program back into a BCS-buster.
But rather than soaring to heights under Carr’s watch, Fresno State plummeted to new depths as the Bulldogs finished 4-9 and missed a bowl for the first time since 2006, ultimately prompting the firing of coach Pat Hill after 15 seasons.
Carr, the younger brother of Bulldogs great David Carr, tried to do his part; he led the WAC with 3,544 passing yards and 26 touchdowns. But even throwing for the third-most yards in school history hardly helped ease Carr’s pain.
“There was kind of a little stretch of depression,” Carr said. “You keep losing and losing. It wears on you. For a program like Fresno State that’s used to winning and is known for doing good things, you can’t win just four games.”
Carr said he is determined to redeem himself, even if he can’t do much to fix Fresno State’s most glaring problem a year ago — a defense that gave up an average of 35.2 points per game.
With Fresno State now using a somewhat similar no-huddle, spread system that Carr ran while at Bakersfield (Calif.) Christian High four years ago, the junior excitedly awaits the time when the Bulldogs fully understand the new offense.
New head coach Tim DeRuyter said Carr already has a good grip of the offense and that he’s an ideal quarterback for the spread.
“He has great knowledge of the game, studies and watches film a lot, and understands what we’re trying to do,” DeRuyter said. “His leadership is invaluable. He’s got a great arm. There’s no doubt we’re in good hands with Derek in charge.”
Carr said he will use the past not only as motivation, but also as a reminder of how he plans to play under the new offense.
“Having a year under my belt, I feel so much more comfortable,” Carr said. “I’m not playing, ‘OK, just don’t (mess) it up.’ I’m playing now with the mindset of ‘OK, I want to embarrass people.’
“That’s how I played in high school with this offense. We’re going out there to try to throttle people.”