Grambling State’s Myles Crawley Embraces High Expectations

Stats Carry out is bringing a larger highlight to athletes, college students and tales at Traditionally Black Faculties and Universities via a partnership with City Edge Community. Included within the 2024 school soccer season are each HBCU FCS Participant and Crew of the Week awards and a season-ending HBCU FCS Nationwide Participant of the 12 months Award, every offered by HBCU+.

“Effectively, first, in direction of the excessive expectation, I’ve all the time had that for myself. So that is no stress, I’ve all the time kinda held myself to a excessive customary anyway. I’ve all the time believed in myself and knew the issues that I might accomplish. And now it’s simply coming to life proper now.”

Confidence has by no means been a difficulty for Myles Crawley, even relationship again to his senior 12 months in highschool.

He transferred to Tucker Excessive Faculty, which has a widely known and extremely revered soccer program in Atlanta, from Arabia Mountain Excessive Faculty, situated in a neighboring county in Georgia. The Lithonia, Ga., native walked into his new program and was an instantaneous chief earlier than starring for the workforce notably as a junior and senior.

The expertise enjoying for the Tigers began him on a journey that finds him six years later because the beginning quarterback for the Grambling State College Tigers, named the Southwestern Athletic Convention’s preseason offensive participant of the 12 months and garnering nationwide recognition, together with making the Walter Payton Award and HBCU+ FCS Participant of the 12 months Award preseason watch lists.

One of many extra fascinating footnotes about Crawley’s journey is that he has not loved the advantages of teaching stability. He’s skilled a distinct head coach in almost yearly of his collegiate profession, which started within the SWAC in 2020, however at Alabama State College, which went via a number of modifications atop its program.

That instability normally ends in gamers by no means having a breakout season like Crawley did final 12 months, when after he made a switch to Grambling State, he threw for two,303 yards and 16 touchdowns, rating No. 2 within the convention in each statistics. The Tigers offense improved to a No. 2 rating within the SWAC after being No. 10 out of 12 groups a season earlier.

However Myles Crawley will as soon as once more expertise a brand new teaching employees within the 2024 season as head coach Mickey Joseph has taken over for Hue Jackson, who was dismissed at Grambling State after final season. Crawley, although, provides lots of credit score for his growth to Jackson.

“You possibly can simply inform that Coach is a league man,” Crawley stated. “He’s going to carry you to a excessive customary, and simply since you are in school, he’s not going to short-change you on the terminology. If that is the place you are attempting to go, why not study it now so you’re ready for the subsequent degree.”

Crawley’s highschool expertise not solely gave him the power to regulate to a distinct teaching staffs, but additionally how you can persevere within the face of adversity. His senior 12 months was additionally the start of the pandemic, so he completed courses on-line and went into the summer season throughout a time of uncertainty on the planet.

A short while after commencement, Quarius Smith Jr., pal of Crawley’s and the beginning operating again on the Tucker Excessive workforce, was killed at a park. It despatched shockwaves via the neighborhood and the soccer workforce.

“It was actual painful for me on the time. That was considered one of my largest losses I’ve had in my life with a man that was actual near me like that – I checked out him like a brother. He was with me in all places.” Crawley stated, with a photograph of Smith nonetheless on his wall. “All of us had the identical desires, aspirations and stuff like that, so I simply put extra weight on my shoulders to go get this for him.”

Crawley’s degree of dedication meant that after three seasons at Alabama State, the place the 6-foot-3, 215-pound sign caller appeared to be trending upward, he entered the NCAA switch portal, and moved on to Grambling State.

Jackson, GSU’s coach on the time, has an in depth profession within the NFL and is aware of what it takes to make it to the best degree of soccer, so Crawley felt the Louisiana college represented his finest alternative to make his dream of enjoying within the NFL a actuality.

“I simply felt prefer it was one of the best choice for me,” Crawley stated, “for the place I used to be making an attempt to go so far as the subsequent degree. I nonetheless love and respect these coaches over there at Alabama State, however I simply felt like at the moment it wasn’t one of the best choice for me to remain there. It’s most likely top-of-the-line selections of my life coming to work with Coach Jackson.”