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Crouch is back.... again

LoKyBuckeye

I give up. This board is too hard to understand.
Why does he keep coming back. This kid needs to learn he will never make it in the NFL. How many times is he going to quit and then come back the next year?

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

He's back. Yeah, again.

Former Nebraska star quarterback Eric Crouch, the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner who already has retired twice from the NFL and was released by the Green Bay Packers last summer, has signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.

As was the case in his last failed attempt at an NFL career, Crouch will try to make the roster as a safety, and the Chiefs will allocate him to the NFL Europe League to give him an opportunity to hone his skills at that position. Crouch worked at safety last spring with the Packers but was waived before the start of training camp.

"The kid has made the commitment to play defense," Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. "He said he would do whatever we wanted him to do."

Details of the contract Crouch signed were not yet available. However, the deal includes the minimum base salary of $230,000 for 2005, and it is doubtful there was a signing bonus. It is just as doubtful that Crouch will succeed in his fourth attempt at an NFL career, but he has enough athletic ability and football instincts that the Chiefs were willing to afford him an opportunity, especially as there is so little risk for them.

Crouch, 26, was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2002 draft and signed a three-year, $1.3 million contract to play wide receiver. However, late in training camp -- and still with an opportunity to make the team or the practice squad -- he left the Rams, citing the difficulties of making the transition to wide receiver.

After the Rams relinquished Crouch's rights, the Packers claimed him on waivers in spring 2003, and Green Bay officials offered Crouch a chance to play quarterback. Hampered by a crowded depth chart and slowed by injuries, Crouch walked away from the Packers two days into training camp that year. Last spring, the Packers reinstated Crouch from the "reserve/retired" list and he participated in mini-camps before being released.

It was believed, after his latest release, that Crouch would not attempt to play in the NFL again and that he might pursue a career in coaching. Agent Jim Steiner said, however, that Crouch is "fired up" by the latest possibility.

"He's as excited about this opportunity," Steiner said, "as he's been about anything since he was in college."

Steiner said his client "has no more desire to play quarterback."

In a celebrated college career, Crouch appeared in 42 games for the Cornhuskers and started 38 of them. He is one of only 13 players in college football annals to both rush and pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season.

Crouch is one of only three players at the Division I-A level to throw for 4,000 yards and run for 3,000 yards in his career, and he also holds the NCAA career record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.

In addition to the Heisman Trophy, he also captured the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award for 2001 and the Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award. He is the most decorated quarterback in Nebraska history and was one of the most prolific offensive players in recent college history. He completed 312 of 606 passes for 4,481 yards, with 29 touchdown passes and 25 interceptions. Crouch carried 648 times for 3,434 yards and scored 59 rushing touchdowns.
 
and again......

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-nighthawks-crouch

OMAHA, Neb. (AP)—The Omaha Nighthawks are giving Eric Crouch another shot at professional football.
The United Football League team held a news conference Tuesday to announce it has signed the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner who once starred down the road at Nebraska.


The 32-year-old Crouch said he’s looking forward to getting one more chance to play football in his hometown but also said he’s not out to prove himself.
“This is an exciting time for me to be part of football again at a high level,” he said.




The Nighthawks minicamp Crouch participated in last month was his first organized football activity in the past five years. In recent years, he’s sold playground equipment and medical supplies. Terms of his deal were not disclosed.


Crouch was a third-round draft pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2002. He was with three NFL teams but never played a regular-season game and last played in 2006, in the CFL.


Crouch acknowledged that he’s got “a bit of rust” to work off, but said he has worked hard over the past few months to get in shape. He said he’s not looking past next season.


“I think I’m as ready as I have been,” Crouch said. “I’m very confident my body will be in football shape by the first game.”


Coach Joe Moglia said he’s confident Crouch is ready to play and he believes a dual-threat quarterback will give the Nighthawks an advantage in the UFL.


“We want to create an offense where the quarterback is part of the attack to put pressure on the defense,” Moglia said.


Crouch will be competing for playing time with D.J. Shockley and rookie Jeremiah Masoli.


This fall will be the UFL’s third season as a haven for players who were cut in NFL training camps and veterans who want to get back to the NFL.


Crouch, a married father of two, has said he’s not trying to get another shot at the NFL. He said he just wants a chance to win a championship and to play in front of his family and friends.


Signing Crouch will almost certainly help the Nighthawks gain publicity and sell tickets.


Crouch grew up and played high school football in Omaha before becoming Nebraska’s third Heisman Trophy winner. After leaving St. Louis, Crouch tried out with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs and played a season in NFL Europe before landing in Canada.


The 2010 Nighthawks featured former NFL Pro Bowlers in Jeff Garcia, Cato June and Ahman Green, as well as former Ohio State star Maurice Clarett. Garcia and Green no longer are on the roster.


Online:
Omaha Nighthawks: http://www.omahanighthawks.com

Eric Crouch, DJ Shockley, Ahman Green, MoC, Cato June, Jeramiah Massolli, Jeff Garcia........Omaha will literally sign anybody to play for them......:lol:
 
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