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theramswire.usatoday.com] Quentin Lake not feeling pressure as son of All-Pro DB: 'I want to be better than him'
Cameron DaSilva
June 28, 2022 4:00 am PT
When Quentin Lake was drafted by the Rams in the sixth round, one of the first things that was mentioned about him was that his dad is former All-Pro defensive back, Carnell Lake. Being the son of a Pro Bowler certainly has its benefits, but it also brings added pressure.
Quentin felt pressure in college, but as he enters the NFL with the Rams, that weight has lifted off his shoulders. He feels less of it now than he did at UCLA, where his dad also played his college ball.
“I’d say it’s less pressure now than it was in college,” Lake said on The Pivot Podcast. “I thought about changing my number, too, just because it’s a new journey for me, but I was like, I had to. I ain’t had a different number all throughout elementary, college, high school. Just because I respect him so much. It’s a respect thing at that point.”
After his playing days were over, Carnell went on to become the defensive backs coach of the Steelers in 2011, holding that position through the 2017 season. Quentin acknowledges how much his dad taught him about the game of football, from coverages to breaking down offenses.
He certainly used that knowledge to his advantage, and it helped him become the player he is today.
“Like I said, he taught me the game,” Lake said. “He taught me Cover 2, Cover 3, what to look at, how offenses line up and stuff like that. Where the offenses like to attack. All that stuff. And coming from him, him being a coach and a player, it’s like, why not use that as a resource? So I don’t think the pressure’s really on me. Now, it’s really just up to me to do what I’ve been doing, do what I can do.”
One goal Quentin has is to win a Super Bowl, something his dad never did in the NFL. And when he does win one, he’s going to show his dad the Lombardi Trophy, bragging that he won something his dad never did.
“I want to be better than him,” Lake said. “I want to win a Super Bowl. He didn’t have that chance. My goal is if I win a Super Bowl, I’m gonna brag. I’m gonna go up to him and show him the hardware and stuff like that.”
Carnell has plenty of accolades that many other players don’t – he’s a five-time Pro Bowler, one-time first-team All-Pro and four-time second-team selection, even earning a spot on the 1990s All-Decade Team. But if Quentin can win a Super Bowl with the Rams, he’ll have some bragging rights over his dad.
