Gar-Field graduate happy to play for Virginia again
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By Dave Fawcett
Published: August 11, 2008
After sitting out last season for academic reasons, the Gar-Field High School graduate decided it was time to make his case that he was ready to return to the University of Virginia’s football team.
So he contacted Cavalier head football coach Al Groh while Groh was on a recruiting trip and asked for a face-to-face meeting. Groh agreed.
Crawford couldn’t remember when he and Groh met or even where the meeting took place, but he remem-bered that the two had a very important conversation about Crawford’s future.
“Basically, I showed him that I was a changed person and physically he saw that I was in shape,” Crawford said. “He saw that I was doing everything as far as getting back in the right condition. He believed me and gave me a chance.”
Crawford was so sincere in his desire to play again for the Cavaliers and doing what was asked of him both on the football field and in the classroom that he was even willing to return without receiving a scholarship.
“I wanted to come back so bad,” Crawford said.
Crawford was put back on scholarship. But more importantly, he was a different person when he re-enrolled this summer.
“He’s one of those players who profited by seeing the other side,” Groh said.
A year ago, school officials informed Crawford that he was academically ineligible. The news didn’t sur-prise Crawford. He knew it was coming, but when it finally did, it was hard for him to accept and even harder for him to explain to others who asked why he wasn’t playing.
“It was not only embarrassing, it was sad,” Crawford said.
Out of school, Crawford returned to Woodbridge, where he kept busy by working in the mailroom of a law firm in Reston and working out with a personal trainer.
But neither provided an adequate substitute for where he wanted to be instead.
“My mind was always wishing I was still [at Virginia],” Crawford said.
When the Cavaliers were home, Crawford returned to Charlottesville and stayed with linebacker Antonio Appleby, where he watched the games on television.
But that’s as close as he got. Attending the home games in person was out of the question.
“It was too much,” Crawford said.
Crawford’s return to the Cavaliers comes at an opportune time both for himself and the team.
Virginia’s two starting defensive ends in 2007 are gone after Chris Long was taken with the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft and Jeffrey Fitzgerald left school and subsequently enrolled at Kansas State.
With the Cavaliers just over a week into their practice schedule, the 6-foot-3, 289-pound Crawford has al-ready shown an improved level of desire. And with two years of eligibility remaining, the junior doesn’t plan on wasting a moment of his time left with the Cavaliers.
“It was pretty much a learning experience that whole year I took off,” Crawford said. “I got more mature and I learned to appreciate football a whole lot more.”
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