There’s a man behind the number. There’s a person underneath all those expectations.
That’s what Jasper Sanks would tell Georgia fans as they gather Saturday night for Isaiah Crowell’s coming-out party.
There are many layers to the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game between No. 19 Georgia and No. 5 Boise State at the Georgia Dome. The Bulldogs are trying to recapture relevance on the national stage and cool the incessant hot-seat talk in regard to their head coach, Mark Richt. And the Broncos, the winningest college football team in America the past 14 seasons, continue their us-against-the-world quest for respectability, not to mention for an actual BCS championship.
But for the Bulldog Nation, which likes to think of itself as fans of the “Tailback U of the South,” it’s yet another opportunity to get a first look at the “Next Big Thing.” This year that is Crowell, the top-rated high school running back prospect in the country as a high school senior. Thirteen years ago that was Sanks.
Like Crowell, Sanks is from Columbus, graduated from Carver High and came to Georgia labeled as a five-star prospect with a can’t-miss ticket already punched for stardom.
“I definitely feel what the guy is going through,” said Sanks, now 33 and working in the oil business in Houston. “Being a tailback at the University of Georgia, that’s a lot of pressure, man. You’ve got a lot of fans that are pulling for you to come in and be that impact player right away. They don’t have time to wait for you to grow or get experience. They want you hit that field running at top speed.
“So, yeah, it’s pressure. I can’t deny that, man. That’s probably why I went bald.”
That’s probably because Sanks wasn’t able to live up to the hype. When he arrived in 1998, he was immediately labeled “The Next Herschel Walker.” He had a solid career by most measures — 13 starts, 1,651 yards, 12 touchdowns — but made a lot of mistakes along the way.
Sanks failed to gain freshman eligibility at Georgia and spent a year at a prep school. He showed up overweight and out of shape and got only 10 carries his freshman season. He was arrested (the charges were later dropped) and struggled with ball security (see his fumble versus Georgia Tech). And the NFL career that was practically assured for him never materialized.
The harsh realities of it all still astound Sanks.
“I tell you, man, it was almost like it wasn’t real, with all the attention and the speed of the game and trying to learn that complex offense,” he said. “It was so much different than it was in high school. In high school I was just so much bigger, faster, better than everybody I came up against. Once I got to college, it was so competitive, it was really overwhelming.”
“Overwhelming” is the exact word Crowell used this week to describe what he has gone through the past three months. Since arriving at UGA in June as the metaphorical captain of Bulldogs’ ballyhooed “Dream Team” recruiting class, the demands placed on him have been enormous. Much was expected when he hoisted an English bulldog white puppy at his signing day ceremony in February. Then Georgia lost its leading rushers from last season, Washaun Ealey and Caleb King, to transfer and academics over the summer.
Suddenly the spotlight was turned up to a white-hot setting. The Bulldogs knew they needed to get their blue-chip back ready to play — and fast.
“It has been overwhelming,” said Crowell, who was the focus of intense media scrutiny throughout preseason camp. “In high school, if you didn’t do something, there wasn’t too much going to be said about it. If you didn’t go to treatment, nobody cared. Sometimes I didn’t even go to class. Nobody really said anything about it. But here, any time you’re one minute late, somebody will know about it. Time management has been the toughest thing for me.”
The good news for Georgia is that Crowell has only one place to be Saturday night. And as long as he arrives in time for the 8:15 p.m. nationally televised kickoff, everybody seems to think he’ll be just fine.
Crowell, who averaged a gaudy 11.7 yards per carry when 50 major colleges were recruiting him as a high school senior, has apparently wowed his coaches and teammates in practice. Coach Mark Richt has kept the majority of the workouts closed to the media, so no outside parties have seen Crowell in any 11-on-11 work. But the Bulldogs themselves gush about what they have witnessed.
“He’s every bit as good as advertised,” sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray said. “Every day in practice the has turned people’s heads. He’s a tremendously talented running back. ... He’s going to make some plays that people’s jaws are going to hit the ground like, ‘Wow, that kid just made that move.’”
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is a little more measured.
“I’ve been really happy with him,” Bobo said. “I think he’s going to be a great player here. Is it going to happen Game One? I don’t know, but I think he’s going to be a great player. Just let the guy play football and let’s see how he develops.”
Crowell is in position to start against Boise State. It depends on the health of junior tailback Richard Samuel, who missed two weeks of preseason camp with a strained quadriceps. Samuel was “close” to full speed this week.
“He could get the nod,” Richt said of Crowell starting. “The stage is getting set up for him certainly to get opportunities. ... After watching him practice, you can see that he’s got a lot of ability.”
Those who have seen Crowell play most over the years are confident he’ll do well not just Saturday night, but throughout his college career.
“Isaiah’s a level-headed person,” said Carver coach Dell McGee, who saw Crowell break Sanks’ career rushing record with 4,872 yards and 60 touchdowns. “He’s not going to feel pressure. On game day, he actually turns it up a notch. He’s actually very quiet during the week, but he talks a lot before games. His competitive nature comes out.”
Crowell said he expects to be nervous — “all great players get nervous,” he said — but remains confident that he’ll be able to handle both the playbook and the competition.
“I think I’m ready for everything,” Crowell said. “I don’t think it will be that tough of a transition for me. I just don’t. ... I think I can play with the best.”
Crowell is expected to have at least 65,000 fans rooting for him when the Dogs enter the Dome. But none will cheer harder than a balding, thirtysomething tuning in via television from Houston.
“When I see that guy run out there on the field with that No. 1 jersey on, it’s going to give me chill bumps,” Sanks said, “because I know exactly what he’s going through.”
