Ball State football coach Stan Parrish has worked with more than 1,000 players in a career that began in 1969. But few have impressed him as much as Brandon Crawford.
“There are very few pictures of players in my office,” Parrish said. “However, I have already ordered an eight-by-11- of Brandon, and I can't wait to put it up.”
Crawford, a South Side High School graduate, will join fellow Fort Wayne native MiQuale Lewis tonight in his final college game, as Ball State travels to Western Michigan.
“Brandon has been a special player and a very special person,” Parrish said.
Though both Crawford and Lewis, a Snider alumnus, are seniors, Lewis has petitioned the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility because he was injured for a large portion of two of his earlier years.
“We may indeed get (Lewis) back for another year,” Parrish said.
The NCAA is expected to rule on the matter in early December.
Crawford took a circuitous route to Muncie. After graduating from South Side, the defensive lineman worked in a factory before enlisting in the Marines, thus earning the nickname “Soldier” from his Ball State coaches and teammates.
He served four years before earning an honorable discharge in 2003. Three years later he decided to enroll at Ball State and, at age 30, to re-start his athletic career.
“We didn't have any idea who he even was,” Parrish recalled. “But he worked his way down the line from practice player to starter to captain. He's been an overachiever in everything that he's ever done.”
As a freshman, Crawford saw action in 10 games, and he was named a starter as a sophomore. That year he earned third team All-Mid-American Conference honors, and improved on that his junior year by being named to the second team.
“Brandon has a saying that we've adopted in this program that he's ‘All in, all the time,'” Parrish said. “And thank goodness he's been here this year.”
After a school-record 12 wins last season, the Cardinal program has plummeted to a 1-10 mark this fall due to the graduation of many top players, as well as a never-ending series of injuries and just plain bad luck.
“His play and leadership have been outstanding this year for the younger guys to follow,” Parrish said.
At 33, Crawford is 15 years older than some of his teammates, but Parrish said he has had no problem fitting in.
“He blends in with the younger guys really well,” Parrish said. “He relates well to them.”
This season Crawford, who has earned a degree in criminal justice at Ball State and is enrolled in graduate school, was moved from an interior spot on the line to defensive end, and he has adjusted well. He has a total of 30 tackles, including 10.5 for a loss, which is second on the Cardinal squad.
While Crawford has been solid on defense, Lewis has been a record setter on the offensive side. That has surprised Parrish after his first impression of Lewis.
“Too small and too slow,” Parrish remembers thinking when he saw Lewis as a freshman. “But he has great instincts and is good at catching the ball out of the backfield.”
In his first two years, Lewis rushed for more than 700 yards and three touchdowns. However, due to injuries, he played in only 10 games over that span.
The Cardinal coaching staff limited his work in practice and the spring, and the strategy paid off in 2008. Playing behind a seasoned offensive line, Lewis exploded for 1,736 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns. Both are single-season records for Ball State.
This year he has split time with a pair of younger backsand played behind an inexperienced offensive line, and things have not come as easily to Lewis.
“He got off to a slow start,” Parrish said. “But he could still end up with over 1,000 yards.”
Lewis has rushed for 825 yards this season, including a school-record 301 against Eastern Michigan in October.
“MiQuale is a lot of fun to be around,” Parrish said. “He's been a steadying influence on this year's team.”
