Eric Crouch

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Eric Crouch
Date of birth	November 16, 1978
Place of birth	Omaha, Nebraska
Position(s)	Quarterback, Safety
College	Nebraska
NFL Draft	2002 / Round 1/ Pick 1
Awards	2001 Heisman Trophy
Statistics	CBS.com
Team(s)
2005 2006-present	Hamburg Sea Devils Toronto Argonauts

Eric Eugene Crouch (born November 16, 1978 in Omaha, Nebraska) was an American football quarterback for the University of Nebraska football team and is currently a quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2001. Crouch was the USA Today Nebraska Player of the Year and a Parade All-American athlete at Millard North High School, where he was a two-time all-state selection at quarterback.

1 Football career
2 Awards
3 Records
4 External links

[edit] Football career

Crouch created a controversy at the University of Nebraska when he threatened to quit the team if not made the starting quarterback over Bobby Newcombe. He was a very well known player for the Nebraska football program and won the Heisman Trophy in 2001 as a quarterback.

Crouch was initially drafted by the St. Louis Rams of the NFL as a wide receiver, but still wanted to play quarterback. However, Crouch was seen by the NFL as being too short to play quarterback. His athleticism was seen as better suited for playing wideout, but a hard tackle by a defensive player caused him to have 150 cc of blood drained from his leg. Due to the injury, Crouch left the St. Louis Rams before playing a game. Following a tryout with the Green Bay Packers in which they too tried to convert him to a wideout, he quit again and became a sports reporter. Crouch then received unwanted publicity on TV broadcasts, most notably on ESPN's talk show Pardon the Interruption, on which he was criticized by hosts Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser for not wearing a jacket and tie to Matt Leinart's Heisman ceremony. Crouch signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in January 2005, and was allocated to the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe, where he attempted a conversion to the safety position recording 25 tackles and 2 pass knockdowns.

Crouch's opportunity to play quarterback at the professional level finally came when he signed with the Toronto Argonauts on February 15, 2006 as a quarterback. (For several years, the Argonauts had owned his CFL rights.) Crouch is now the fourth string quarterback in Toronto, behind legend Damon Allen, Michael Bishop, and Spergon Wynn. On July 22, 2006, Crouch made his regular season CFL debut against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina, Saskatchewan. Coming in at the start of the second half following an injury to Spergon Wynn, Crouch sealed the win for Toronto with solid play including a 94-yard pass completion to Arland Bruce III.

[edit] Awards

2001 Heisman Trophy Winner
2001 Davey O'Brien Award Winner
2001 Walter Camp Award Winner
2001 Big 12 Conference offensive player of the year
2000 Third-Team All-American (College Football News)
2000 Second-Team All-Big 12 (AP, Sporting News, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle)
2000 Third-Team All-Big 12 (Coaches)
2000 Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP vs. Tennessee
1999 Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Year (Coaches)
1999 Co-First-Team All-Big 12 (Coaches)

[edit] Records

One of three quarterbacks in Division 1-A history to rush for 3,000 and pass for 4,000 yards in a career
13th player in NCAA to rush and pass for 1,000 in a season (1,115 rushing, 1,510 passing)
NU career total offense leader with 7,915 yards
NU single-season total offense leader with 2,625 yards
NU single-game total offense record of 360 yards
NU career total-offense touchdown leader with 88
Owns Nebraska career records for most rushing yards by a quarterback (3,434)
NCAA record for most career rushing TDs by a quarterback (59)
Most rushing attempts by a Husker quarterback (648)
Tied school records in 2000 for most TD passes in a game (5 vs. Iowa)
Most rushing TDs in a game by a quarterback (4 vs. Kansas)
Set a QB record for most rushing TDs in a season (20)
Set school records in 2001 for most rushing attempts in a season for a QB (203)
Most total offense yards by a sophomore (2,158)
Tied an NCAA record by scoring a TD via run, pass, reception in the same game (vs. Cal, 1999)