Report: Georgia castaway Isaiah Crowell washes ashore at Alabama State
Isaiah Crowell's career is finished at Georgia, but it is not finished: Less than a week after being booted from UGA on a pair of felony weapons charges, the SEC's reigning Freshman of the Year is reportedly set to enroll at Alabama State, a historically black school in Montgomery, Ala. (The move was originally reported Wednesday by UGASports.com.) The step down in class, from FBS to FCS, means Crowell will be immediately eligible this fall as a sophomore.
From a raw talent standpoint, at least, he shouldn't find much competition. Unlike certain other schools in the state, ASU is not an Island of Misfit Toys discarded by programs that can afford high standards: The Hornets' 2011 roster included zero castaways from SEC schools, and only two – starting quarterback Gregory Jenkins, a transfer from Troy, and backup tailback Antione Kirkland, from Northern Illinois – from anywhere in the FBS. They're also replacing their leading rusher, outgoing senior Tim Clark, who didn't exactly set SWAC defenses ablaze last year with 555 yards from scrimmage. Crowell accounted for a little over 900 yards as a first-year starter, the vast majority of them coming in the first two months of the season, before he was limited by a suspension and an ankle injury.
So it's no secret that the NFL still figures to be very interested in Crowell as a potential draft prospect – blue-chip talent is blue-chip talent – if he makes good on his second chance. That's still a big if. From a legal standpoint, Crowell faces up to five years in prison on the gun charges, but has already hired a high-profile attorney from Atlanta and is expected to get off with probation as a first-time offender. (That's if he's convicted, which is no guarantee: One typically does not pay highfalutin city lawyers to preside over a guilty plea.) At any rate, the price of youthful indiscretion is two or three years in obscurity. If he sticks to the script from here, though, I suspect we haven't heard the last of Isaiah Crowell.
