Notre Dame 99-to-2: No. 20 Shaun Crawford, cornerback

By
Douglas Farmer,

By
Douglas Farmer

Published July 24, 2017 07:43 AM

Notre Dame v Texas — AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 04: Shaun Crawford #20 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs with the ball after making an interception during the second half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 4, 2016 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Editor’s Note: When it was learned sophomore cornerback Donte Vaughn would be changing his number from 35 to 8, that led to an adjustment of the “99-to-2” schedule. While editing that spreadsheet, your resident mistake-maker accidentally eliminated a planned entry from the docket.

A sincere thanks to @DFeliciano98 for pointing out the absence of No. 20 Shaun Crawford, a junior cornerback. Hopefully, delaying Crawford’s post had no adverse effect aside from momentarily compromising the countdown nature of organizing these posts via number.

To be clear: Fall camp starts in about eight days. The season begins in 40.

Listed Measurements: 5-foot-9, 175 pounds
2017-18 year, eligibility: Junior with three years of eligibility remaining including the 2017 season, though there is a reasonable argument to be made Crawford could appeal the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility should he want to pursue it once the assured three are fulfilled.
Depth chart: If just looking at the depth chart, Crawford looks to be a backup cornerback, supporting either sophomore Julian Love at the field corner position or senior Nick Watkins over at the boundary. More accurately, Crawford will be the first choice at nickel back, a position not usually listed on the two-deep, though it is used as often as not in the modern era of college football. Naturally, this assessment should come with an if healthy disclaimer.
Recruiting: A consensus four-star prospect, the Under Armour All-American walked away from a commitment to Michigan shortly after receiving an offer from Notre Dame. The No. 7 cornerback in the class of 2015, per rivals.com, the No. 7 recruit in Ohio and the No. 82 in the country, Crawford also held offers from Miami, Ohio State and Florida State, among others.

CAREER TO DATE
Two unrelated injuries have stymied Crawford’s rise. In 2015, he quickly established himself as the likely option at nickel back — and if not there, playing time was assured in some variety or another — before a torn ACL ended his freshman season before it began.

After an impressively quick recovery, Crawford partook in some of 2016’s spring action. By the time the season began, he had established himself as a starter, getting that nod against both Texas and Nevada. He made six tackles and picked off one pass before a season-ending Achilles injury halted what looked to be a promising campaign.

QUOTE(S)
Achilles injuries are notoriously difficult to come back from quickly. Thus, expectations for Crawford’s spring were always tempered, yet even before practices began, Irish coach Brian Kelly expressed optimism regarding Crawford’s rehab.

“He’s jumping, has change of direction,” Kelly said in early March. “You’re going to see him extremely active in the spring. I don’t see him in a contact position at this time, but he won’t be cheated this spring. He’s really going to use spring as an opportunity for him to continue to grow as a football player.”

The coaching and training staffs kept an eye on Crawford’s snap counts throughout the spring, but he still showed enough to encourage both Kelly and defensive coordinator Mike Elko. The week of the Blue-Gold Game, Kelly described Crawford as “if we had to play, h’s close to playing” after partaking in seven-on-seven drills.

Elko went so far as to lump Crawford in with other possible situation-specific options at the rover position, the malleable linchpin of Elko’s defensive scheme he brought with him to Notre Dame.

“A lot of that is dictated by who that guy is lined up [against] and what we’re trying to do,” Elko said. “We’re going to see a lot of really talented slot receivers. We’re going to have to match up and cover them well. There’s other names than the big linebacker/safety bodies to put at that position. … When Shaun gets healthy, I think he’ll do that some.”

WHAT KEITH ARNOLD PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“I think it’s only a matter of time before Crawford is a starter on this defense. I’m confident he’s already one of the team’s best 11 defenders, regardless of if he’s categorized as a starter or nickel back.

“The battle to start on the outside opposite Cole Luke will be interesting. Devin Butler’s foot injury likely turns this into a three-horse race, with Nick Watkins having to rehabilitate a broken arm this summer and [junior cornerback-now-converted-to-safety] Nick Coleman still very raw. Crawford’s best spot might not be on the outside, though he could be a compelling boundary cornerback. But he might be too good to pull off the field, especially if Watkins isn’t able to ascend to the starting job.

“I’m not going to get wrapped up in what Crawford is called. I think he’ll be a guy that stays on the football field for as many snaps as possible, knowing that his playmaking ability and nose for the football will make him invaluable in [former Irish defensive coordinator] Brian VanGorder’s scheme. I expect him to be one of the team’s leaders in filling up the stat sheet, an instantaneous upgrade from Matthias Farley at his best — when he had a quietly productive 2015 season in the slot.”

2017 OUTLOOK
Let’s start by staying healthy for a season. Crawford’s injuries are certainly not his fault, but until he can hold up to the grind of a collegiate season, this outlook hardly matters. He played both sides of the ball in high school with great success, so there is reason to believe his body is up for a physical workload — it just has not had an opportunity to show that yet.

If healthy, Crawford’s quickness and pound-for-pound strength should make him nearly the ideal of a nickel back. Few slot receivers or running backs running routes can shake someone with Crawford’s skill set. In fact, Notre Dame’s offense shows just how far a team may have to go in order to evade a talented nickel back with the 6-foot-4 ½, 224-pound sophomore Chase Claypool currently projected for its slot receiver. Few opponents will be able to trot out such a towering weapon against Crawford.

DOWN THE ROAD
As talented as Crawford may be, his height, or lack thereof, puts a ceiling on his talents. He will never be a stellar field cornerback. Fortunately for the Irish, they have Love for that role. Crawford could serve at the boundary position, and he will have a chance to do that once Watkins runs out of eligibility in 2018.

For that matter, if Crawford handles the nickel back duties with aplomb this fall, he may force Elko to find a way to keep him on the field for every snap. Moving Crawford ahead of Watkins on the boundary could serve that purpose.

As for eligibility, Crawford suffered two season-ending injuries, one before playing a snap and the other in only the year’s second game. In similar instances, the NCAA has allowed a sixth year to complete four years of playing. Those decisions are not made until after a player’s fifth year, though, so it would come after the 2019 season if both Crawford and Notre Dame want to pursue such.

TRANSFERS
No. 66: Tristen Hoge, offensive lineman, transfers to BYU
No. 50: Parker Boudreaux, offensive lineman
No. 30: Josh Barajas, linebacker, to transfer to Illinois State

INJURIES
No. 13: Tyler Luatua, tight end, career ended by medical hardship

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Notre Dame 99-to-2: No. 20 Shaun Crawford, cornerback