As a lowly 6th-round NFL Draft pick in 2022, Rams Safety Quentin Lake wasn’t even a lock to make the team. Three years later, he’s a team captain and was the Rams’ second-leading tackler in 2024.
This sudden success shouldn’t be a surprise, because Lake had the perfect role model to follow. Someone who also starred as an NFL team captain, while playing the same position and even wearing the same jersey number 37: his dad.
Carnell Lake was a five-time All-Pro safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers who was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 1990s. However, Carnell did not try to force Quentin into the family business, at the family position.
“When he was little, he was always asking me to coach him, and I wouldn’t,” Carnell told KTLA. “I wanted it to be his thing. I didn’t want him to have that pressure.”
Quentin started playing anyway, with his father having a big impact, in an indirect way.
“I was in little league football and playing running back,” Quentin said. “One day, my coach came up to me and said, ‘Oh, we know your dad, why don’t you try defensive back?”
The move to defense was a good one. After a successful career at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Quentin starred at UCLA, just like dear old dad. Carnell was in the midst of a successful NFL coaching career at the time but put that on hold so he could watch Carnell play.
“To be able to spend that quality time with my son is really important to me,” Carnell explained. “And if I can give him some nuggets that help him in his career, that’s great.”
Those “nuggets” have proven useful.
In college, Quentin once ignored a tip from Carnell, then got burned for a touchdown, leading him to say the words every child dreads: ‘Dad, you were right.’
“He had an ‘I told you so moment,’” Quentin said of the experience with his father. “After that, we really started diving into the film. He makes sure I’m putting myself in the best possible position to succeed.”
The Lakes are now succeeding together off the field as well. When KTLA caught up with them at the Rams facility in Woodland Hills, they were shooting a PSA for Edwards Lifesciences to encourage people to get screened for heart valve disease. The Rams and Edwards are offering free heart valve screenings for the public.
Heart valve disease is a condition that has affected the Lake family personally and Quentin says by pushing Carnell to get screened, he feels he’s finally getting to coach his dad for a change. But in the end, there isn’t much of a rivalry between this father-and-son duo.
When KTLA asked the Lakes who’s better on the gridiron the answers were split. Quentin says Carnell was faster, while Carnell says his son has better hands and is a surer tackler.
However, Quentin gave his dad the edge as a harder hitter. Both said they enjoy working together, breaking down film, and discussing techniques more than comparing accolades. As Quentin says of his relationship with his dad: “Football is our love language.”
More information about the free screenings for heart valve disease or to sign up for one can be found by following this link.
