Texans Say Carr Key to Future

HOUSTON (AP) _ More than two weeks before the NFL draft, the Houston Texans have already decided they'll take Fresno State quarterback David Carr with the No. 1 pick. <br><br>The announcement Wednesday

Thursday, April 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HOUSTON (AP) _ More than two weeks before the NFL draft, the Houston Texans have already decided they'll take Fresno State quarterback David Carr with the No. 1 pick.

The announcement Wednesday was made by owner Bob McNair, although the decision was made by general manager Charley Casserly and coach Dom Capers.

``To win, you have to have a good quarterback. Charley and his people have looked at this long and hard,'' McNair said. ``We know enough about Carr that we feel like we know who he is.''

The Texans had been expected to go for Carr all along, although Oregon's Joey Harrington is regarded as good a quarterback prospect by some NFL teams.

In 37 games at Fresno State, Carr completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 7,849 yards, 70 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. As a starter, he had an 18-8 record.

As a senior, Carr led the nation with 4,308 yards passing and 42 touchdown passes, becoming only the sixth quarterback in NCAA history to throw for more than 4,000 yards and more than 40 touchdown passes in the same season. He led the Bulldogs to an 11-2 record last season.

Carr finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation's top senior quarterback.

Casserly had previously acknowledged that Carr was likely to be his choice over Harrington and others, like North Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers.

``We felt he was the best player in the draft,'' Casserly said. ``You got a real solid individual off the field and a real talented individual on the field.''

``He's going to be a rookie. He's going to make a lot of mistakes. To learn, you have to make mistakes,'' McNair said.

While the Texans are impressed by Carr's accurate passing and strong work ethic, the team also likes that his personality is well grounded by his family life, Casserly said.

Carr and his wife, Melody, have been married about three years and have a son.

McNair said discussions with Carr's agent, Mike Sullivan, have been going well and the team believes a contract will be worked out soon.

Casserly said contract talks will resume the week of the draft.

Sullivan helped negotiate a $62 million, six-year deal for Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick, the No. 1 pick in last year's draft. Sullivan wouldn't comment on terms, although in general, NFL contracts follow a pattern when the same player is selected at the same position in the draft, meaning Carr's contract would be slightly higher than Vick's.

Houston is still looking for a veteran free agent quarterback to run the offense while Carr develops.