Isaiah Crowell ‘happy,’ seeking fresh start at Alabama State
Former Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell is getting ready to compete at far from SEC spotlight.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – About 225 miles from Athens, in the opposite direction from where most people will be looking when the college football season opens, you can find Isaiah Crowell here.
Take the last exit of I-85 south, make a left under the overpass and drive straight down Decatur and into the projects. There you will see a weathered sign reading, “Hornets Stadium,” and a football practice field bordered on one side by a small college campus and on the other by less-than-idyllic surroundings.
“The culture is a little different here,” Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said with understatement.
Alabama State is in the midst of a makeover. A 30-year, $600 million wish list of constructions projects includes several new athletic facilities, including a $62 million football stadium scheduled to open on Thanksgiving. In that sense, this is an appropriate place for Crowell to land. He hopes to be in the midst of his own makeover. Twice suspended and ultimately kicked out of Georgia for weapons charges (still pending) — a gun with a filed off serial number was found in his car at a campus checkpoint — Crowell is thankful to be anywhere.
Crowell seems more "comfortable" at a smaller program.
Barlow, the seventh year coach, said that when he met Crowell, he found him “regretful for what had happened. I remember when he was here for his visit, I heard him whisper to his mom, ‘Thank God for a fresh start.’ I didn’t say anything. But I saw Isaiah walking around and looking. He seemed relieved that somebody was ready to embrace him again and give him a second chance.”
Crowell was pleasant when a reporter approached him after practice Friday. “Yes, I’m happy,” he said, responding to a question. But then he was asked by a school official to keep walking to the locker room and stop talking. He has been advised by his attorney not to speak to the media, perhaps until after legal matters have been resolved.
A previously scheduled interview two weeks ago also was canceled suddenly
Kaiss (left) says Crowell still has long way to go in maturing.
by his mother. Debbie Crowell said late Friday night that she was pleased for her son and that, “He’s happy at Alabama State.” But she otherwise declined comment.
We’ve seen no shortage of skilled but misguided youth in college athletics. Those “stars” on national signing day don’t account for deficiencies in maturity and intelligence. Crowell was the center jewel of Georgia’s prematurely celebrated 2011 recruiting class that already has lost seven of 26 players.
On the field, Crowell was as great as advertised last season. Despite injuries and suspensions,
The practice field is bordered on one side by project housing.
questions about his work ethic and toughness, he still rushed for 850 yards and five touchdowns and was the SEC’s freshman of the year.
Vince Dooley played the “bad apple” card when discussing Crowell recently. Maybe. But Crowell never has seemed like a bad kid, just an overly coddled and enabled one. If he left Columbus-Carver High School with a sense of entitlement, his enablers at the school and all surrounding him should share some blame.
It's not Athens but Crowell soon will play in a new stadium.
When Crowell arrived at Georgia and suddenly had to deal with rules, it didn’t go well.
“Am I surprised? No. It’s what we created,” said Fred Kaiss, an Alabama State assistant coach.
“I don’t know if Isaiah was lost. But he’s not a guy who can have a lot of freedom. He can’t. And he ain’t there yet. Oh, he’ll tell you, ‘I’ve got it.’ But inside, I think he knows he doesn’t have it yet because if he did he’d be meeting with guys like you.”
Barlow has taken chances on problem kids before.
Kaiss, a 20-year coach at HBCU programs, has seen several athletes function better at the 1-AA level than major (FBS) programs. A number of former SEC players have transferred to Alabama State, including NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson.
“Is it more glamorous [in FBS]? Sure,” Kaiss said. “But it’s also easier to fall prey to other things for some kids. Some guys can’t pitch for the Yankees because they fall apart in the limelight, but they can pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers and be a star.”
So there you go: Crowell hasn’t gone from Bulldog to Hornet as much as he has Yankee to Brewer.
There have been some early hiccups. Crowell has been disciplined twice for being late – once to a meeting, once to a weight session. “His habits were not formed yesterday,” Kaiss said. “This is a process.”
But he’s trying to blend. Barlow, a former Alabama State and NFL wide receiver, was pleased the other night when an assistant coach asked for volunteers to run on kickoff scout team and Crowell ran onto the field. “That showed me he was starting to turn a corner,” he said.
Alabama State was a surprising option. Top players generally will transfer to a junior college for a year and then back to an FBS school without having to sit out a year. (Cam Newton and Zach Mettenberger are two examples.) Even Barlow placed his recruiting chances at only “30 percent.” But he sold Crowell and his parents on the program’s growth, proximity to Columbus and his past work with problem transfers (Nigel Carr was kicked out of Florida State, came to ASU and now plays for the Baltimore Ravens).
Barlow said Crowell is “comfortable here. We talked about junior college, but he said he just wanted to be someplace where he would fit in.”
During their first conversation, Barlow described Debbie Crowell as “really down” about matters. “She said he looked immature with the way he was dealing with some stuff [at UGA] and he felt bad because he had let his teammates down, and people who believed in him. He wanted an opportunity to restore his name, and she wanted to make sure we were demanding of him and would hold him accountable.”
He told Crowell he didn’t care about his history and barely even looked into it: “I told him, ‘Here’s where our trust starts.”
Barlow doesn’t deny this was a football decision, but he maintains it’s more than that. “I believe in second chances,” he said, and then he referenced his brother, Clemmon, a standout athlete who “went astray,” and eventually to prison.
“The parole board cut him a break and gave a second chance. Now he’s a great father and provider. So, yes, this was a chance for us to get an elite athlete. But I’m hoping we can give Isaiah something rewarding: experiencing accountability, team, an education.”
Crowell isn’t quite off the map. Alabama State’s opener against Bethune-Cookman next Sunday in Orlando is being carried by ESPN. But when major conferences begin play, he will slip under the radar for the first time in his life. Maybe that’s not a bad thing.
By Jeff Schultz
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253 comments Add your comment
Truth Teller
August 26th, 2012
3:29 pm
@Game Changer
“Bottom line is Mark Richt has no rules and is not respected by any players. ”
Interesting perspective. It’s good to see how uninformed idiots view things.
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August 26th, 2012
3:36 pm
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Joseph
August 26th, 2012
3:42 pm
If it wasn’t for the black players at these HIGH POWER WHITE UNIVERSITIES they wouldn’t have a football program. These PWC don’t care about the black men being educated, they only want to win.
Are these PWC recruiting the black players to educate they or to WIN. We all know the answer, PWC can not win unless they have black players.
Is this the reason why the reporter is pissed off ?
Joseph
August 26th, 2012
3:46 pm
I am from Georgia and glad IC transferred to an HBCU
Time
August 26th, 2012
3:57 pm
SC Old Dawg – “Everybody that has not made a major mistake in your youth, please sign in………should be a rather short list”
Wisest words spoken in this entire blog. Funny how people get on the internet and immediately start casting stones from their glass living rooms.
Time
August 26th, 2012
4:03 pm
Anyone want to take some odds on how many who are calling him a thug, and a criminal, and saying he will be in jail soon are actually criminals, or former criminals themselves? How many saying he’s going to be in jail have served time themselves?
And if you’ve never been in jail or any trouble with the law, that most likely means you’ve just been lucky. Because YOU have committed crimes, just haven’t gotten caught doing so. And you hypocrites actually think that makes you better than someone like IC.
nyc dawg tt
August 26th, 2012
4:10 pm
Ok, everyone knows he blew it. He is a kid from columbus, as am i. I dont think first off that many can fully appretiate the dynamic, although that isnt an excuse. I also agree that carrying a gun around is a dismissable offense.
Maybe im alone, but is anyone else curious as to why a kid like this would feel the need for that level of protection?
Don
August 26th, 2012
4:10 pm
Good luck to IC, I wish him well.
Time
August 26th, 2012
4:13 pm
Because the police are too busy writing tickets ($$$) to actually protect the populace. So people, especially those in the public light who are targets, don’t feel safe on the streets, so they carry a gun.
JawjaBill
August 26th, 2012
4:28 pm
Thug! Felon! Dreads! No forgiveness. No Ray-Bans for a bright future. …This is the REAL B-Belt. IC, progress does not have a designated starting point.
Mister.Earl
August 26th, 2012
5:32 pm
Throwaways
Rather than perform-to-fund large football factories, m ore African American athletes need to enroll at HBCUs that would undoubtedly pay more attention to their development as people.
Georgia fans only care about wins. If a young man is troubled he is instant trash.
There is another black backup eager and willing to take his place.
Don’t get injured young man
Frankie
August 26th, 2012
5:42 pm
People often ask why do we still have HBCU’s well from the athletic side of the question here is your answer….
Mister.Earl
August 26th, 2012
5:43 pm
You Do The Math
As an HBCU was good enough for Walter Payton (Jackson State) , Jerry Rice Mis Valley) , Willie Brown (Grambling), Willie Lanier (Morgan State), Junior Galette (Stillman) Alfred Jenkins (Morris Brown), Otis Taylor (Grambling) , Doug Williams (Grambling), Deacon Jones (SC State), Harry Carson (SC State) , Michael Strahan (Texas Southern), Greg Lloyd (Fort Valley State), and recent NFL Hall of Fame inductees Shannon Sharpe (Savannah State University) and Richard Dent (Tennessee State University)….
… HBCUs are good enough for ANY athlete, black or white.
Don’t be a statistic. Be a person who is valued.
Mister.Earl
August 26th, 2012
5:52 pm
Now, sit back and watch the hostile push back….
DawgNole
August 26th, 2012
6:30 pm
Festus
August 26th, 2012
3:11 pm
The best thing that could happen to college athletics is to get rid of athletic scholarships and only admit students who are there to pursue legitimate degrees. The service academies do reasonably well with real student athletes.
________________
In academics and in life, yes they do. In football, not so much. Just depends on what the school wants out of its recruits. If it wants speed, it should expect to receive a dose of the criminal element with it.
jcc
August 26th, 2012
8:19 pm
I hope he does well- Im a big AU fan that cant stand most of the UGA fans and their weird mix of delusions, bragging and blaming BUT I hope this guy can make the most of this 2nd chance- unlike Mike Dyer who immediately blew it again. Im so disappointed in him – and of this top notch center who was just arrested- some of them just dont care about their team I guess…
Fan of the Game
August 26th, 2012
8:27 pm
You know it all goes back to kids not having structure growing up. Many of these kids never see their fathers. Our country and government are alot to blame for that. But it really goes back to taking responsibility and many learn that too late.
Possiblefelon
August 26th, 2012
8:41 pm
UGA fans do no owe him an apology. He owes uga fans an apology. Lot of folks stood up for him
through thick and thin while in Athens. Now he is in a place where smoking whatever, etc is acceptable.
Good luck to him.
listen to your coaches
August 26th, 2012
8:55 pm
I.C. praying for you young man! Think before you act. Remember trust only the higher being! Now go on an get that degree it’s free . God Bless!
HornetFan
August 26th, 2012
9:38 pm
I am a huge Alabama State fan and I hope I.C. do well. I will be cheering for you I.C. on and off the field. I would love to see you graduate from ASU with a degree.
rarebreed
August 26th, 2012
9:49 pm
good fair/balanced writing Jeff. You seem like a guy that anyone from any social-economic status would like to have a beer with…have always respected your writings more-so than your colleagues’ Go Hornets!
Dave
August 26th, 2012
9:51 pm
Jeff, seems to me you censor your “allowed” comments to suit your agenda. The kid’s a thug, if that doesn’t suit you ban me. It’s the truth.
Myra
August 26th, 2012
10:46 pm
Thanks, Coach Barlow for giving this young man another chance.
Iloveuga
August 26th, 2012
11:03 pm
Wishing you the very best, Isaiah!
RGB
August 26th, 2012
11:03 pm
““Am I surprised? No. It’s what we created,” said Fred Kaiss, an Alabama State assistant coach.
[If the POHleese find a gun with a filed-off serial number in your car at a checkpoint--You didn't put that gun there. Somebody else did.]
This is all starting to make sense to me now.
.
Darius
August 26th, 2012
11:20 pm
Jeff the first part of this article was unnecessary, what was the point behind it? It really seems as if you were trying to talk down on the school.
ya know
August 27th, 2012
7:36 am
“Am I surprised? No. It’s what we created.” “we created”? Oh, that’s right, like the President said, “You didn’t do that; somebody else did.”
Dave in Adairsville
August 27th, 2012
7:46 am
I would love to see you graduate from ASU with a degree.
Are you really dumb enough to think that Crowell gives a tinker’s dam about getting a degree?
Call It Like It Is
August 27th, 2012
8:14 am
2nd chance, 3rd chance and on and on. The tune never changes. Everyone talks about being a young man doing stupid things and getting another chance. Bulls**t. Carrying a gun with the numbers sanded off is not some silly little thing. Its not like he got caught with a beer or some bar fight. He had a weapon that could be used, then tossed. Why? Why do our schools continue to pamper these thugs?
cdworo1
August 27th, 2012
8:19 am
IF you are comparing Crowell to Phillips of Nebraska then you know nothing about football, Phillips is or was light years ahead of Crowell in talent, but like the same neither could stay out of trouble. The NFL will never draft Crowell. He’s not big or tough enough. But I wish him well, hopes he gets a degree and does something with his life.He’s only a kid thats trying to mature into an adult. ITs funny, how they say kids have more access to information and technology, yet kids of today take longer to mature and grow up.
gump
August 27th, 2012
8:44 am
mama said, you can’t fix stupid
mediocrity continues...
August 27th, 2012
9:27 am
BOOOORRRRRRIINNGGGGGGG
War Town
August 27th, 2012
10:08 am
Good luck Isaiah,but you really let a bunch of people and your self down.Hope things work out for you.
sheepdawg
August 27th, 2012
10:19 am
we have plenty more, cmr likes signing these type of “student scholars”
CK
August 27th, 2012
10:24 am
Wow! Blatantly insulting the city of Montgomery, Alabama State University and their football program to begin the continued hateful tirade against Isaiah Crowell. He is no longer a part of the University of Georgia football program and yet you write an article seeking to lay blame on him if the bulldogs do not have a successful season. Get over it.
robodawg
August 27th, 2012
10:45 am
Best wishes to Crowell. We know he can look great when he’s toting the rock. Hope everything comes together for him off the field as well.
Jimmy Crack
August 27th, 2012
10:51 am
All of this may be wishful thinking. Gun charges are a different animal than pot or DUI charges. That said, at least he is trying to rebuild his college football career despite that serious charge still hanging over his head.
I would highly recommend that Isaiah try his best to not get kicked out of Alabama State prior to his court date.
FootballTopFan
August 27th, 2012
1:34 pm
Football Top Fan would like to wish Isaiah Crowell the best of luck and success at Alabama State University in Montgomery Alabama.
The Hornets play in the SWAC Conference.
The SWAC has produced some of the greatest players in the history of football.
Walter Payton ( Jackson State ) and Jerry Rice ( Mississippi Valley ) to name a few.
poof!!!
August 27th, 2012
1:48 pm
Thanks Jeff for being so diligent about negative comments. I had quit reading the comments because of the negative and hate filled things that many were posting. I now feel I can read the comment again without being offended.
Sam
August 27th, 2012
2:19 pm
Good article. Hope he turns it around.
Jacob
August 27th, 2012
7:25 pm
At the beginning of the article, poor sentencing…..
plus IC left uga over two months ago, leave him along and wish him well
Edward A
August 28th, 2012
2:19 pm
Why are Georgia acting like the guys garbage. GA was all on his n… when they recruited him now they say he soft and injury prone. This proves how good he is with all this an suspensions and still produced numbers. Stats do not lie J/S. The real issue is that Mark has not respect from his players. I do not think Saban has this problem. Them Bama boyz no Saban not playing just like Bob Knight players knew he did not play. out of 26 players in IC recruiting class 7 already gone from UGA team. Yall just made cuz IC gone and he got a great lawyer so he gone get off and graduate then go to the league. Nobody said anything when UGA was making all this money for them. Lets take the black guys off the field and lets watch 12 white guys play 12 other white guys um nobody wants to see that so he is where he belong in a HBCU
SECdawg
August 28th, 2012
3:23 pm
He is a bad apple. Wants to be a thug so let the punk go live in the streets and get shot. What a stupid kid. He had his whole life in front of him at UGA and blew it over and over until he was cut. Now he can sit and watch UGA games at home and only wish. Hes also still being disciplined at ASU already and he should be showing up extra early, doing what it takes and really changing his life around after getting a second chance. No matter how much talent he has, the kid is no good.
RxDawg
August 29th, 2012
11:52 am
Not a bad article at all Jeff. It looks like Bama St is trying to do the right things with him. Maybe Crowell can get it together. It sounds like he might. But he’s gota walk the walk now.
Robert
August 29th, 2012
2:39 pm
I am reading things about dreads, coddling, entitlement, and all kinds of talent. In Crowell’s senior year at Carver-Columbus I saw him in a playoff game against Calhoun. He played 3 plays!! 1st play- hand off to Crowell up the middle. No gain. 2nd play- hand off to Crowell up the middle. The O-line made a decent hole, but one of Calhoun’s linebackers (probably not even a Div. III prospect) met him in the hole and hit him so hard his helmet came off. Maybe a 2 yd gain. 3rd play- Crowell on a sweep. Before he could turn the corner both Calhoun linebackers hit him so hard he took himself out of the game, cussed the coach out (I was right there), cussed the O-line out, and threw his helmet. He basically acted like a spoiled brat. Isaiah needs a military type football program or he will amount to nothing. Like someone else said. Look for him in fast food.
Kyle
September 1st, 2012
5:38 pm
We didn’t miss him today. Richt is building a real TEAM and attitudes like that destroy team unity. Good riddance. Hopefully we are turning the corner and next season we can start with less suspensions – I’m too much of a realist to say NO suspensions…
uga parent
September 3rd, 2012
10:29 am
i sure miss the good old days when a major infraction of team rules might have meant sneaking out of the dorm after curfew to meet up with some girls… now it’s possession of a handgun with the s/n filed off? sheesh…
Eric Loggins; Alabama State Alumni
September 3rd, 2012
11:03 am
Mr. Crowell will have a great future at Alabama State. I was in the band at Alabama State when Coach Barlow was a football player for the hornets. Look at the results…..the same will happen for Mr. Crowell under the wing of Coach Barlow…with dedication..Mr. Crowell will become an NFL Great just like Coach Bralow! Good luck Mr. Crowell and welcome to your new home! You will be just fine at ASU…..Trust me!
Eric Loggins; Alabama State Alumni
September 3rd, 2012
11:05 am
Mr. Crowell will have a great future at Alabama State. I was in the band at Alabama State when Coach Barlow was a football player for the hornets. Look at the results…..the same will happen for Mr. Crowell under the wing of Coach Barlow…with dedication..Mr. Crowell will become an NFL Great just like Coach Barlow! Good luck Mr. Crowell and welcome to your new home! You will be just fine at ASU…..Trust me!
Eric Loggins; Alabama State Alumni
September 3rd, 2012
11:15 am
As far as the UGA haters….nobody is perfect..and I’m glad ASU gave him a second chance!.here is a stunner for the UGA FANS…..ROLL TIDE….NUFF SAID SEC HATERS!….and my wife is a UGA Alumni…ha ha ha ha..hardie ha ha! LOL!