Irish After One Of The Nation's Best In Quavaris Crouch

Sam Greiner knows what he says about Quavaris Crouch‍ may be difficult for some to believe, but he’s used to that by now.

“Everything I’ve said has come true,” says Greiner, who coached the 2019 North Carolina athlete at Harding High School before leaving for the job at Hickory Ridge this offseason.

“I told everybody he’d be the number one player in the country his freshman year and he ended up being that. We ended up winning the state championship when people said it couldn’t be done.”

Greiner is convinced Crouch has the potential to be an historic player on either side of the ball.

“I think he could be the next Lawrence Taylor on defense, obviously off the field, hopefully not that,” Greiner says. “If he played running back at the next level and that’s all he did, he’d be a Heisman candidate and he’d probably end up winning the Heisman. I’m not just saying that.

“He’s 6-2.5 right now and probably about 238 and he’s not done growing yet. The kid could easily be 6-3, 265. He doesn’t eat a whole lot. Imagine when he starts eating at training table. He’s lifting and he’s already super strong.”

Greiner notes Crouch isn’t your typical running back.

“This guy is close to 240 pounds with abs and he’s one of the fastest guys on the field,” the coach says. “He’s just so great at understanding to run behind his pad level. He can make people miss more than you’d think with slight adjustments. He never takes a big hit, but he delivers great blows. It takes a toll on them. It’s like a chess match. People will get out of his way in the third or fourth quarter. He’s so explosive. He’s probably the most explosive athlete I’ve ever seen in the aspect of being speed to power.

“One day, he’ll want to provide for his family even though he has to get through college and he wants to get a degree, but you’ve got to think about what it all entails. Does he love running the ball? Yeah, but he played defense his whole life before he even the football in high school.”

Greiner says the wear and tear placed on running backs throughout their career has to be considered along with the potential impact he could have on the other side of the ball.

“He has the fastest burst I’ve ever seen off the edge and nobody has even taught him anything yet,” he says. “He’s so great at dropping his hips. In high school, the best athlete plays running back or quarterback a lot of times. The higher up you go, it shifts gears. Running backs are not as valued as much as a guy who can rush the passer. If you have that capability, you have to entertain that.”

In addition to the natural gifts God has blessed Crouch with, Greiner gives him credit for working to maximize his potential.

“He always wears getting better upon his sleeves,” the coach says. “His willingness to get better all of the time. He sits in the front of the classroom. He’s got one of the highest GPAs on the team. He’s very polite. He really interacts with young kids. He’s really taken a hold of being a great football player and understanding how important it is for the community around him. Football is a secondary part. He’s a better human being than he is a football player.”

The Charlotte native has offers from virtually all of the top programs across the country, but is focusing his attention on several schools including Clemson, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Alabama and Notre Dame.

“Whoever comes up with the most creative aspect of playing him on defense and having a goal-line package on offense for him running the football – a lot of guys play special teams anyway, that could be like his package – you could end up getting a special Heisman candidate who plays defense,” says Greiner.

He doesn't rule out Crouch playing some running back "if it's the right system."

“Notre Dame has a great system running the football, similar to like a Stanford or a Michigan, where they’re running between the tackles in a pro-style and you have a lot more capability of having him more of a running back," he explains. "Where say the Clemsons of the world or something like that don’t run the football in a pro-style scenario, he’s not going to be running sideline to sideline parallel to the line of scrimmage. He wants to keep his shoulders parallel and destroy people that way. Is he the best running back in the country? Yes, hands down, not even close.”

Notre Dame’s academics, history and prestige have Crouch’s attention.

“The tradition at Notre Dame is very special,” Greiner explains. “The problem is they haven’t got him in the stadium to see the tradition. I brag about the tradition at Notre Dame a lot to him, but it’s kind of hard when you’re further away.

“The thing is, you’re playing a national schedule, you’re on NBC every week. There are a lot of pros that Notre Dame has.”

Crouch hopes to use his platform to raise up others and is already carving out his own brand centering on work ethic and his Christian faith.

“He feels like his work ethic is underpraised,” says Greiner. “He’s always trying to outwork himself winning the day. That’s special to him. To be able to be on a national scale like Notre Dame where it’s nationally been recognized for 100 years. Notre Dame would probably have a bigger benefit than someone else, even some of the teams that have been better in the past. Texas has Longhorn Network, Notre Dame is affiliated with NBC, so it’s a national deal.

"He’s not dumb. He knows that and understands those aspects. That’s a positive thing.”

But the Irish still need to find a way to get him on campus.

“It’s not cheap just to get to Notre Dame,” his coach says. “The only way he’s going to get there is on an official visit. Would he choose that as one of his five? I don’t know. He has to feel like he has a relationship where he would choose to want to do that for the summer. It’s just do you have enough relationship? Can you see yourself going there?”

Autry Denson has made a tremendous impression on Crouch as a coach, a man and a Christian.

"The running backs coach is a very, very strong Christian man," Greiner explains. "That’s very uplifting to him as well. He’s a great guy. I feel like he has a real capability of getting on a personal level with him.”

But it will likely take a greater effort from the staff as a whole to cement a spot on Crouch’s official visit list.

“He has to feel comfortable like, ‘Would I want to go that school if it wasn’t football?’ Notre Dame definitely could be one of those possibilities,” says Greiner.

Crouch plans on enrolling early, so he won’t be waiting until National Signing Day to make a decision, according to Greiner.

“The latest he’d be signing is December, but he would like to wrap up the process before then. He has no clue what he’s leaning toward at the moment. It’s kind of open, but by the summer, he’ll probably narrow it down to five or seven and take those visits and go from there.”