2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Former Marine follows dreams, plays football for Ball State
Ben Gouldsmith
Issue date: 9/21/07 Section: Sports
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He's a man among boys.
Brandon Crawford is 31 years old. He's spent four years in the Marine Corps and has experience working on an assembly line in an automotive factory.
Now, Crawford is a sophomore defensive end playing for the Ball State football team. Yes, that means he is a 31-year-old sophomore.
"I appreciate every day I get to touch that field because I'm living the dream right now to be able to play at this level again," Crawford said. "That's why I try to give my all when I'm out there, whether it's practice or in games, because some day the Lord might take football away from me. … Having it taken from you, you learn to appreciate it a lot more."
* * *
Rewind 12 years to Crawford's senior year of high school.
Crawford and his Fort Wayne South Side team had just won a Friday night game, and one of Crawford's friends was driving to pick him up to go out and celebrate.
Crawford jumped in the back seat of the car. He had no idea it was stolen.
A few minutes later, police sirens were blaring. The car's driver didn't pull over immediately and tried to speed away. When the driver finally pulled over, Crawford panicked. He jumped out of the back seat and ran a few blocks to his mother's house.
Sound asleep, Marva Crawford awoke to pounding at the door. It was the police looking for her son.
A stipulation of one of Crawford's college scholarships was that he couldn't get in trouble with the law. His hopes of going to college were dashed, at least for the time being.
"He got with the wrong people that he thought were his friends," Marva Crawford said. "I knew there were things he was going to have to work out. I couldn't make the decisions for him, but he did what he needed to do, and he got his life straightened out."
Instead of going to college straight out of high school, Crawford found himself working on an assembly line that made parts for Hummers. Then he joined the Marine Corps in 1999.
Brandon Crawford is 31 years old. He's spent four years in the Marine Corps and has experience working on an assembly line in an automotive factory.
Now, Crawford is a sophomore defensive end playing for the Ball State football team. Yes, that means he is a 31-year-old sophomore.
"I appreciate every day I get to touch that field because I'm living the dream right now to be able to play at this level again," Crawford said. "That's why I try to give my all when I'm out there, whether it's practice or in games, because some day the Lord might take football away from me. … Having it taken from you, you learn to appreciate it a lot more."
* * *
Rewind 12 years to Crawford's senior year of high school.
Crawford and his Fort Wayne South Side team had just won a Friday night game, and one of Crawford's friends was driving to pick him up to go out and celebrate.
Crawford jumped in the back seat of the car. He had no idea it was stolen.
A few minutes later, police sirens were blaring. The car's driver didn't pull over immediately and tried to speed away. When the driver finally pulled over, Crawford panicked. He jumped out of the back seat and ran a few blocks to his mother's house.
Sound asleep, Marva Crawford awoke to pounding at the door. It was the police looking for her son.
A stipulation of one of Crawford's college scholarships was that he couldn't get in trouble with the law. His hopes of going to college were dashed, at least for the time being.
"He got with the wrong people that he thought were his friends," Marva Crawford said. "I knew there were things he was going to have to work out. I couldn't make the decisions for him, but he did what he needed to do, and he got his life straightened out."
Instead of going to college straight out of high school, Crawford found himself working on an assembly line that made parts for Hummers. Then he joined the Marine Corps in 1999.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Justin
posted 9/21/07 @ 12:11 PM CST
This is an awesome story. As a Nebraska fan, I'd like to welcome Mr. Crawford to Nebraska. Although I am hoping that you will leave disappointed with the final score of the game, I will cheer for you personally. (Continued…)
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