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Tracking the Stars of the Future

Football Recruiting Report
Thursday, January 5, 2012

By Sammy Batten

Big-play athlete Crump plots path to ECU

 

By Sammy Batten
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

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Quandarious Crump is the kind of athlete who can amaze even those who watch him perform day after day.

Lexington (NC) High School coach Joe Gaddis has seen every practice and game that Crump has participated in over the last two seasons, and even he has been surprised from time to time by plays made by the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder.

“Earlier this year our quarterback threw a pass to Quandarious in the end zone,'' Gaddis said. “Everyone in the stadium just knew when he threw it that the pass was too high. It looked like he threw it 10 feet too high.

“All of a sudden, I don't know … something happened. It was like Quandarious was shot out of a cannon. He goes up way higher in the air than you could imagine and brings the pass down with one hand like it was nothing. He was like a man among boys on that play. He's just in a different league ability wise than anyone around him.''

The East Carolina coaching staff is hoping Crump can recover from a knee injury that cut short his senior season at Lexington and make some spectacular plays for them in the near future. Crump became a member of the Pirates recruiting Class of 2012 in mid-November after also entertaining a scholarship offer from N.C. State.

Before Crump arrives in Greenville, he’ll spend a semester at Hinds Community College in Mississippi. “I plan to go to junior college my first year, then enroll at ECU,’’ Crump said.

Crump is taking the JUCO route in part to continue rehabilitation from a knee injury that cut short his senior season at Lexington. While running the ball on Oct. 14 against Salisbury, Crump tore the ACL and MCL in his knee.

The injury shortened a season in which Crump had rushed for 503 yards on 47 carries and scored six touchdowns. It also sidelined him for basketball, a sport in which he’d twice been named to the all-county team.

Crump had surgery on November 18 and his recovery has progressed faster than expected, according to Gaddis.

“To be honest, he’s doing too well because in PE class he’s out there trying to play basketball on it,’’ Gaddis said. “He’s not far enough along to do that, but it feels so good he wants to try. He’s ahead of the game in terms of recovery.’’

A two-way starter since his sophomore season at Lexington, Crump is a legacy of sorts at the school. He followed in the footsteps of his cousin, Cory Holt, who was a quarterback at Virginia Tech from 2003 to 2007. Holt accounted for more than 6,000 yards of total offense during his career at Lexington.

But until Crump started being recruited by major colleges for football, his favorite sport was basketball. He played for the Lexington varsity hoops squad as a freshman and averaged 12 points and seven rebounds last season as a junior.

“People kept telling me that football was my best sport, so I started to work at it a little harder,’’ Crump said. “I guess I’ve become a pretty good player.’’

Good enough to catch the attention of the ECU staff, which stuck with him even after the knee injury.

“They stuck by my side and that meant a lot,’’ Crump said. “The coaches there really treat their players the right way.’’

Crump will make his official visit to Greenville on January 20.

Although he spent much of his time in high school playing running back, Crump expects to play outside linebacker for the Pirates.

“I think I’m pretty good at everything,’’ Crump said. “I cover, I hit pretty good and I can make big plays.’’

Gaddis agrees.

“He’s one of those guys who can do it all,’’ Gaddis said. “I think they’re (ECU) looking at him more on the defensive side, but I’d say the coaches on offense may be battling for him before it’s all over with because he can do some damage with the football in his hands.’’

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01/05/2012 04:59:35 AM

 

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