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UFL team providing look to '01 Heisman winner Crouch
OMAHA, Neb. -- Eric Crouch is giving pro football yet another try.
The 2001 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Nebraska is among 70 players participating in a minicamp this week for his hometown Omaha Nighthawks with the United Football League.
Crouch was a 2002 third-round NFL draft choice of the St. Louis Rams. The Rams projected him as being a receiver, and he walked from training camp and announced his retirement after not becoming offered an opportunity at quarterback.
Crouch tried security in the NFL Europe and last played pro football in 2006 when he quarterbacked the CFL's Toronto Argonauts. (Getty Pictures)
He hasn't played since 2006, when he was a quarterback for three games using the CFL's Toronto Argonauts Baseball jerseys. Because then the 32-year-old has operate a playground equipment company and sold medical materials in Omaha and done some broadcasting.
"I do not believe I'll ever get football one hundred % from my system," Crouch said Wednesday. "I don't believe that will actually happen. Maybe it will. I know I am going to become a little bit rusty and I will be a little bit behind. I feel I can go in and assist the team win."
Crouch continues to be working out with previous Nebraska players in Lincoln in current weeks, but didn't decide till Tuesday to accept the Nighthawks' invitation.
"I think Eric recognizes he has not played in a while and he's rusty," coach Joe Moglia said. "He's carried out a great work of keeping in form. He's not in game shape. But in the end of the day, there wouldn't be the remotest opportunity Eric could be doing this unless of course he was taking it seriously and wishing to really give this his extremely, very best shot."
The UFL is entering its third yr as being a haven for players who were cut in NFL instruction camps and veterans who want to get back to the NFL.
The 2010 Nighthawks featured Pro Bowlers in Jeff Garcia, Cato June and Ahman Green, as well as former Ohio State star Maurice Clarett. Garcia and Green no lengthier are around the roster, and Moglia acknowledged that the addition of Crouch could be good for public relations.
Crouch grew up and played high college football in Omaha prior to turning out to be Nebraska's third Heisman Trophy winner. Following leaving St. Louis, Crouch attempted out with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas Town Chiefs and played a season in NFL Europe before landing in Canada.
"Since leaving Nebraska," he stated, "it's been a less-than-stellar expert profession, hopping from group to team, league to league, having injuries and uncertainty," he said.
The other quarterbacks in the Nighthawks' minicamp are last year's backup, D.J. Shockley from Georgia, and rookie Jeremiah Masoli, formerly of Oregon and Mississippi.
Crouch said the 7 practices over four days will tell him just how much he still wants to play, and whether the Nighthawks want to invite him to instruction camp next month.
Unlike other UFL players, Crouch isn't seeking to play in the NFL. Married with two youthful children, Crouch stated he wants to play the activity he loves within the town exactly where he lives.
"I'm a really competitive individual and I've by no means yet won a championship - little league, substantial school, college or professionally," he stated. "There's some thing about being on the championship football group. That still drives me. Perhaps it seems quirky, but that is the aggressive drive in me."
Crouch expects to be mocked for trying to revive his football profession again.
"I'm really not concerned too much with how individuals will perceive my choice," he said. "Life is short and you have to enjoy what you're performing, and I've usually liked football. I truly really feel I still have the ability set to play it."
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Tags: Misc Sports : Sports
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