Their lives and careers have paralleled each other.
They both led their schools to national recognition and top-name bowl appearances, and in the process became poster boys for staying in school.
One was the first overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. The other went two spots behind that.
Even their schools have mimicked one another in the search for their replacements.
The only difference is that one wears No. 8 while the other sports No. 3.
Joey Harrington and David Carr, saviors of the Oregon and Fresno State football programs, respectively, both played the 2001 season amid national exposure and Heisman expectations.

Harrington has gone on to the Detroit Lions while Carr is the top signal-caller for the NFL’s newest team, the Houston Texans.
Both are expected to take a majority of snaps for their respective teams this season, although Harrington won’t start immediately. And like many rookies in the NFL, both have had an adjustment period.
“Route concepts are route concepts, no matter what level you’re playing on,” Harrington told the Detroit Free Press. “Everybody runs the hook, curl flat, everybody runs posts. It’s just a matter of learning the new terminology for those routes and then learning the new protections that go with them.”
Most agree the two will eventually find success on the professional gridiron. The big question, at least in the collegiate world, surrounds Fresno State and Oregon.
How can each team replace its former franchise players?
For the Bulldogs, that answer came in the shape of junior Jeff Grady — for one game, anyway. The former backup to Carr suffered a right hip bruise against Wisconsin in the first game of the season and was unable to play last week against San Diego State.
In his place, freshman Paul Pinegar took the snaps for the first time.

Pinegar completed 21 passes in 35 attempts for 196 yards as he led the Bulldogs to a 16-14 victory.
“I thought Paul did a very good job with ball security,” Fresno State head coach Pat Hill said. “He needs to get a little better at throwing the ball away when he gets out of the pocket. And this week we’ll hopefully get the ball in the hands of the guys that can make some plays.”
Hill has said Grady will be Fresno State’s starting QB when healthy. His status is still unknown for Saturday’s game against the Ducks.
For Oregon, junior Jason Fife isn’t quite Harrington yet, but a 36-13 win over Mississippi State at Autzen Stadium wasn’t a bad way to take the reins.
Fife was 14-of-26 for the Ducks and threw for three touchdowns while running one in himself.
“To be honest, he really shocked me,” Oregon running back Onterrio Smith said after the game. “He played really well. He made some big plays and showed a little bit of scramble.”
Like Fresno State, the Ducks also have a freshman waiting in the wings — Kellen Clemens — in case Fife falters or goes down with an injury.
In 2001, Oregon finished the season 11-1, notching the most wins in school history. Fresno State finished the year at 11-3.
If the teams want to repeat that performance, the man behind center is going to have to lead them there.