Ball State's Crawford, 31, took long road to success

By Paul Franklin, (East Brunswick, N.J.) Home News Tribune
Brandon Crawford has certainly taken the road less traveled and this week the journey leads to Toronto.

That is where Ball State will take on Rutgers in the second annual International Bowl on Saturday. And for the second straight year Crawford will take his position on Ball State's defensive line.

What makes him significantly different from everyone else on the field is the fact that he is 31 years old — 11 years out of high school.

He's almost old enough to be the father of Rutgers freshman Anthony Davis, who started the season at the age of 17.

Consider: Twelve years ago Davis was a first-grader in Piscataway, N.J., while Crawford was a senior at Fort Wayne South Side High School in Indiana.

Eight years ago Davis was in fifth grade, while Crawford was working in a factory.

And three years ago, when Davis was playing varsity football as a sophomore for Piscataway (N.J.) High School, Crawford was being honorably discharged from the U.S. Marines.

Crawford, a 6-3, 255-pound sophomore, has gone against talented lines from Illinois and Nebraska, but his toughest challenge of the season could come Saturday, when he and his teammates will be charged with stopping Rutgers running back Ray Rice.

"To have a guy gain 1,700 yards," Crawford said of Rice, "you have to have guys who can move people. They're a very good offensive line. They're a good team. I take nothing away from them."

Recruited out of high school by some mid-major programs, Crawford had his college career initially delayed by personal problems. He wound up spending a few years working in an automotive factory before deciding to get his act together by joining the Marines.

He was dispatched to boot camp in California, including combat training, but he remained stateside with administrative duties in Cherry Point, N.C.

His plans to attend college were delayed again upon coming out of the Marines. He spent one year helping his mother in Indiana, but he had taken academic courses in the Marines and also began taking summer courses.

His military commitment has aided in paying for school and his love of football made him walk on at Ball State in the summer of 2006.

By midseason he began to hit stride, and in a win over Central Michigan last season he had four tackles, two sacks and forced two fumbles.

He has been named Defensive Player of the Week in the Mid-American Conference three times and this season made third team All-Conference. The Cardinals tied for the MAC West Division title and in a win over Northern Illinois at the end of the season, Crawford put up three sacks, broke up two passes and forced a fumble.

"I get after it every play. It's the only way I know," Crawford said. "I play hard on every snap and take advantage of every play I'm out there. I leave everything on the field."

Quiet by nature, he leads by example. When needed, however, he'll say what needs to be said.

"I'm older, but I know I'm not a senior," he said. "There are a lot of guys who have been here before me who have sacrificed more than I have for this program. I know I've learned some things, but I don't want to overshadow what they can bring."

Crawford brings life experience as well as football smarts, but more than anything he brings a lesson in perseverance.

"My family brought me up not to quit, to keep pushing even when things are bad," he said. "When it rains, the sun is gonna come out sooner or later. I try not to get down on myself and keep pressing forward. I just continue to strive."

Ellie