Tom Brady, cherishing his 46th birthday, has an untold story of faith and belief from his then-Michigan HC Lloyd Carr: "I believe in you"

As perhaps the greatest-ever quarterback turns 46, Tom Brady recalls that just a smidge of faith from his college coach Lloyd Carr turned the tide on his destiny.

Brady's story could have taken a different path right at the beginning. He narrates a tale of how he almost left the Michigan Wolverines.

"My second year…and the guy who was playing, he was very much their guy. He had a great start to his career, and I was looking up at all of these guys on the depth chart who were ahead of me, and I thought, 'I’m never going to get a chance here.'"

Brady recalls that his Wolverines coach, Lloyd Carr made the difference between him joining the University of California and remaining at Michigan just by his faith in him.

"I went and I talked to Lloyd Carr, who was the head coach, and said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to get my chance here.’ He said, ‘Tom, I want you to stay, and I believe in you. You can be a good player, but you have to start worrying about the things you can control.'"

Happy 46th birthday to @TomBrady 🎂🐐

⭐️ 7x Super Bowl Champion
⭐️ 10x Conference Champion
⭐️ 8x MVP (5 Super Bowl, 3 Regular)
⭐️ 15x Pro-Bowl
⭐️ 6x All-Pro
⭐️ Most TDs, Completions, Yards, Wins in History
⭐️ In 21 healthy seasons as a starter, Brady made the SB nearly half the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… pic.twitter.com/BFi403vtTF

Tom Brady became a starter the next year and led the team to the Citrus Bowl and Orange Bowl. He threw for 4,644 yards and 30 touchdowns, finishing with a respectable 20-5 record as a starter.

Brady was selected No. 199 overall in the draft by the New England Patriots. This led to him being deemed the greatest steal by a team in the draft.

Tom Brady's indelible legacy

Tom Brady joining the Patriots kicked off an unbelievable dynasty that spanned 20 years. It included 17 division titles and 13 AFC championship games.

Immediately after Tom Brady became New England's starting quarterback, the Patriots won their first Super Bowl in 2001. That would be the start of nine Super Bowl appearances and six titles.

When he was deemed too old to make a difference after leaving New England and joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brady pulled a rabbit out of a hat once again. He led them to Super Bowl LV, winning it against Patrick Mahomes.

Brady holds most of the NFL quarterback records, including most touchdown passes, career passing yards, completions and wins. At 40, he was the oldest NFL MVP, and at 43, the oldest Super Bowl MVP.

Tom Brady's narration poses the greatest 'what if' question in sports history. Would the world have been introduced to the monster that became the greatest quarterback to have ever played the game had he transferred to California?