Isaiah Crowell hosts more than 300 young football players to camp

Current NFL running back and Carver High School graduate Isaiah Crowell returned to his hometown Friday morning to head up his second annual football camp at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium.

The event was hosted in partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley.

Crowell was also joined by two other NFL players with local ties in Detroit Lions defensive tackle Gabe Wright, who played alongside Crowell at Carver and played collegiately at Auburn; and Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Quan Bray, who played with Wright at Auburn and graduated from Troup.

More than 300 area children, ages 8-13, participated in the free event. The focus was on basic football skills and fundamentals. In addition to help from the local Boys and Girls Clubs, the camp is also supported through a grant from the NFL Foundation.

“It was fun to be back, being from here,” Crowell said. “I just wanted the kids to learn the fundamentals, and the main thing was to come out here and have fun.”

Crowell, who played at Georgia before transferring to Alabama State, decided to forego his senior season and declared for the NFL draft in the spring of 2014.

He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns, making an instant impact. He followed up a 102-yard rushing performance in his final rookie preseason game with a two-touchdown performance in the season opener at Pittsburgh.

Crowell finished with 607 total yards rushing and eight touchdowns, and while he didn’t reach the 100-yard plateau in a single game, he had two games with two touchdowns. Besides the game at Pittsburgh, Crowell dazzled in his home state, rushing for a season-high 88 yards and a pair of scores in a Week 12 win at Atlanta.

“It felt good because I had a whole lot of family members and friends there who showed me a lot of support,” Crowell said. “I wanted to give them the game they wanted to see. I’m glad God blessed me to be able to do that.”

Crowell rushed for more yards in his sophomore season last year with the Browns – 706 – but his touchdown production was cut in half, finding the end zone on the ground just four times. However, Crowell has reason for optimism for this year as three of those touchdowns came in the final four games of the season. His best performance came in a Week 14 win over San Francisco, where he had his first career 100-yard game with 145 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns.

He is projected first on the Browns’ depth chart heading into the 2016 season.

“I don’t think we ran the ball enough last year,” Crowell said. “We have new coaches and a new system that’ll focus on the run more, and I think we’ll have a better season.”

New Cleveland coach Hue Jackson says he likes what he has seen of Crowell.

“I really think Isaiah Crowell is a really good running back. I think he’s going to have a sensational season, I really do,” Jackson told cleveland.com last month.

Crowell also believes the cupboard isn’t bare as far as talent in Columbus youth football and some who may possibly follow in his footsteps.

“I feel like we have a lot of talent here,” Crowell said. “A lot of the kids out here are real smart. I want them to have the opportunity that I had. That’s why I’m doing this, to help them learn the fundamentals and be better as a player and a person out on the field.”

This story was originally published June 10, 2016 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Isaiah Crowell hosts more than 300 young football players to camp."