Ja’Derris Carr spotlights himself while announcing commitment to Princeton

In this day and age of high school recruiting, many student-athletes go out of their way to have a presence on social media and to stand out when making their commitment to play at the next level. For Vista PEAK running back Ja"Derris Carr, his commitment video was more than just announcing his future plans. It was an introduction to himself as a young man and the people who have helped shape him into the person he is. Carr started by talking about playing football since he was 4 years old and finding a brotherhood with some of his best friends and his coach. That pack of friends have stayed together growing up in the region, and even though they could have tried to go to some of the traditional power programs, the players stuck together and turned the Vista PEAK program into one of the best programs in Class 4A last season. He then gave a tribute to his grandmother who passed away during his freshman season, a family member who gave everything for him and his siblings even if she didn’t have anything to give. Carr also gave tribute to his mother for everything she has done for him, and finally to his siblings for being extra motivation for him on the football field. “I really wanted to show for people that don’t know me, I just wanted to feed them a little portion of my life,” Carr said. After giving some background of how he fell in love with the game and how much his family means to him, Carr then announced that he would be attending Princeton after graduation.

Back where it all started 🖤 #Committed #GD7 @J_P_Sully @tdipentino @TeamFullGorilla @bangulo @adamgorney pic.x.com/0ubtSnzMNV

— Jiggie Carr 🖤 (@J1ggie) August 1, 2020

Princeton went above and beyond in the recruiting process and formed a connection with Carr that ultimately landed him. But like his commitment video showed, it was more than just football that stood out for him to go to their university. “It was really the small details,” Carr said. “They texted my mom saying ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ and was asking about my twin siblings. They were contacting me all day every day just getting into my phone making sure their presence was felt. They told me I could go in there, work hard and have a chance to start freshman year. It was really the whole aspect of getting my life set up is the biggest reason why I committed here. “I feel like in society with everything going on, this was the biggest thing I could have put out at this time. I want to make change in my community being an African-American male. I want my purpose to be bigger. With this and with football and going to Princeton, I know I can shine a light on my community back home. I really want to be the change I want to see in my community. That’s why it was such a big deal for me to showcase everything.” In his home community, Carr has made his presence felt on the football field. He earned playing time in his first two seasons at the high school level and looked like he would be a key factor for the Vista PEAK program heading into 2019. He would do just that and the team took the next step forward as a result. Carr went off rushing for 1,445 yards and 23 rushing touchdowns while catching 26 passes for 510 yards and four more scores. As for Vista PEAK, the team went from 7-3 and just missing out on the playoffs in 2018 to going undefeated during the regular season and reaching the playoffs in Class 4A last fall. A First Team All-State selection last year, Carr feels he will be even more dangerous this upcoming season based on the work he has put in during the offseason. “This season, I’m really trying to polish up the intangibles and the stuff I know I can excel at more,” Carr said. “I’ve been getting some wide receiver training as a running back, so teams are going to have to prepare for me both ways, whether I’m lining up as a slot receiver or in the backfield. If I have those two things going, it’s going to be hard for teams to come in and stop me.” Should Carr and Vista PEAK get the chance to play this upcoming season, they hope to take one more step together and make a run in the playoffs towards a state championship. “If we get the chance, I feel positive that we can go all the way,” Carr said. “We were 10-0 and lost in the first round of the playoffs last year, but I feel like we were a young team. This year we have a veteran team and we have a lot of seniors and a lot of guys that are ready to step up. We are taking initiative as a team and I feel we have more focus as a team and that we are working on those 14 games going our way all the way to state.”