Hill tells prized recruit "I'm staying"

It looks like Pat Hill is returning as Fresno State's head coach in 2009. Hill went to visit his prized recruit, Derek Carr, yesterday evening and told him that he is returning to Fresno State and will not be the head coach at the University of Washington.

If the last name rings a bell, it should, Derek is the younger brother of former Bulldog quarterback and current NY Giants backup QB David Carr, who also played under Pat Hill. The younger Carr, a high school standout at Bakersfield Christian High, was also recruited by Washington but will stay with Hill and Fresno State.

Earlier yesterday, it was reported by the Seattle Times that Hill had told Washington to either offer him the job before the end of the day or he would would pull his name from consideration. Asked whether Hill had pulled his name as of last night, Derek Carr's father Roger said "I don't really know how. He just said he was here. He said, 'I'm here.' He said he's staying in Fresno." There was also a poll conducted by ABC 30 in Fresno and it had some interesting results.

Also asked if Derek would honor his verbal committment to Fresno State had Hill left for Washington, Roger Carr responded, "That would have been a tough decision. There were literally 72 schools that contacted us. But Derek wanted to go to Fresno State, and Pat Hill was a big part of that."