The quiet leader of the Longhorns defense, Crowder was a model of consistency at Texas, starting his final 47 games. He proved to be a difference maker on the front wall, registering 19 sacks with 40 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and 76 pressures in 51 games during his collegiate career.

At Tyler High School, Crowder excelled in football and baseball. He lettered three times for the football team, starting during his final two seasons at defensive end. He earned all-state Class 5A and all-district honors as a senior and was an honorable mention all-district choice as a junior.

Crowder registered 127 tackles, 22 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 14 sacks in his final two seasons. He posted 55 tackles, nine sacks, 12 stops for losses and a forced fumble as a senior. His top games were a 10-tackle, one-sack performance against Tyler Lee High and a three-sack effort vs. Lufkin High.

Crowder posted eight stops, a sack and 10 quarterback pressures in a victory against Arlington Bowie High, He made 72 tackles (26 solos), 10 stops for losses and five sacks as a junior. He saw limited action at tight end and moved up to the varsity for the team's run to the 5A Division II championship game as a sophomore. Crowder added three letters in baseball (pitcher, first base), and earned all-district honors after posting a better than .400 batting average as a senior. He also pitched a one-hitter.

Upon enrolling at Texas in 2003, Crowder immediately joined the defensive-line rotation, taking over left-tackle chores for the final nine games. He earned third-team freshman All-American honors from The Sporting News and shared UT's Outstanding Defensive Newcomer Award. Crowder recorded 35 tackles (21 solos), with one sack, three stops for losses and 14 pressures. He picked off one pass, batted down five others and forced a pair of fumbles.

The Associated Press All-Big 12 Conference honorable mention produced 47 tackles (27 solos) while manning the left tackle position in 2004. He had 4½ sacks, 10 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 22 pressures. He recovered and caused one fumble while also knocking down three passes in 12 games.

The league's coaches awarded Crowder first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors in 2005. He was a member of the Hendricks Award (nation's top defensive end) watch list and a key member of a defense that ranked 10th nationally in total defense (302.9 ypg) and eighth in scoring defense (16.4 ppg). He led the team with 20 pressures, while recording 50 tackles (31 solos), three sacks and nine stops for losses. He also picked off a pass, batted down two others and caused one fumble.

In 2006, Crowder was named a finalist for the Hendricks Award and a quarterfinalist for the Lott Trophy (defensive IMPACT player of the year). A second-team All-American selection by Walter Camp, he was also a consensus first-team All-Big 12 pick. The team captain produced a career-high 59 tackles (39 solos) with 10½ sacks (11th on the school single-season record list) and 18 stops behind the line of scrimmage (13th on the Texas annual record chart). He had 20 pressures with four forced fumbles and recovered a fumble for a score.

In 51 games at Texas, Crowder started his final 47 contests at left defensive end. He recorded 191 tackles (118 solos) with 19 sacks for minus-120 yards and 40 stops for losses totaling 158 yards. He added 76 quarterback pressures with two interceptions and 13 pass deflections. He also had eight forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, returning one for a touchdown.

Positives: Has an adequate frame, but shows decent muscle development in his arms and a good bubble, but also has room to add at least another 10 pounds of bulk without having it affect his quickness. … Has natural playing strength and adequate quickness that he uses in battles with offensive tackles to disengage. … Can shed quickly vs. single blocks when he keeps his hands active and has the functional short-area burst to pressure the pocket. … Plays with proper knee bend and adequate flexibility, running with a normal stride. … Has enough hip snap to redirect and the burst to close on the ball carrier. … Spends his extra hours in the weight room trying to improve his impressive strength. … Blue-collar type who has total command in the huddle and does a good job of keeping the younger players in check. … Has the balance to keep his feet active flashing through traffic. … Swings his hips around and stays low in his pads to work to the ball in pursuit. … Has the agility to plant and drive out of his breaks, and the quickness off the snap to push offensive linemen back on their heels. … Quick enough to turn the corner and agile enough to counter in-line blocking. … Uses his hands aggressively, delivering a punishing initial jolt. … Flows to the ball well and does a good job of sinking his weight and putting his foot firmly into the ground to hold firmly at the point of attack. … When he keeps his hands inside his frame, he is effective at shedding. … Has the torque agility to get a push off the blocker and close on the cutback lanes. … Beats most blocks coming off the edge, but needs to show better pre-snap awareness (can be pulled offside). … Will not hesitate to face up to the bigger linemen; he does a nice job of fitting on the run to finish. … When he comes off blocks low, he can consistently stop the ball carrier's forward charge. … Extends his arms well to beat off reach blocks; he keeps his hands active in attempts to shed. … Closes on the pocket with good urgency; he displayed better slant ability and took better angles to pressure the quarterback in 2006. … Good wrap-up tackler who hits with force and has the reach-around ability to strip the ball carrier from the pigskin. … Times his leaps well to knock down the pass at the line of scrimmage. … Despite giving up considerable bulk, he is stout at the point of attack working on the edge. … Attacks the outside hard and keeps his balance while holding his ground firmly vs. the power charge. … Keeps his feet moving when attacking and has enough balance to slip past blocks.

Negatives: Has good weight-room strength, but appears to have thin ankles and legs, which could cause problems for him trying to anchor vs. the bigger blockers at the pro level. … Has good lateral agility, but needs to apply it more often; he seems to coast a bit and take plays off when having to move long distances. … Battles a little too high on occasion when redirecting inside and sometimes stops his feet, rather than driving through when making the tackle. … Tends to stay on the ground when leveled, rather than getting up quickly to bounce back into the play. … Not really an explosive pass rusher due to adequate speed coming off the edge, but has enough short-area burst to pressure the pocket if given a clear path to the ball. … Has to get lower coming off the snap to prevent blockers from getting their hands on him. … While he generates a nice surge off the snap, he needs to vary his speeds; he sometimes overpursues the play and doesn't always give the effort needed to recover. … Will close in a hurry in plays in front of him, but does not seem to like chasing the play in long pursuit. … Has active hands, but when he fails to keep them inside the frame, he struggles to disengage.

Compares To: Matt Roth, Miami Dolphins -- Like Roth, Crowder plays with good intensity, but will get a bit reckless at times and overpursue the play. He is effective at gaining pressure coming off the edge, but lacks the elite speed to be a quality pass rusher. He will take a few plays off, especially when having to move laterally down the line. He is best served coming off the edge, but needs to be quicker with his hands attempting to shed.

2005: Played most of the season with three dislocated fingers he suffered in fall camp.

Campus: 4.76 in the 40-yard dash. … 440-pound bench press. … 505-pound squat. … 317-pound power clean. … 31-inch vertical jump.

Attended John Tyler (Tyler, Texas) High School, playing football for head coach Kelvin Ratliff. … Excelled in football and baseball, as he lettered three times for the football team, starting during his final two seasons at defensive end. … Earned all-state Class 5A and all-district honors as a senior and was an honorable mention all-district choice as a junior. … Registered 127 tackles, 22 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 14 sacks in his final two seasons. … Posted 55 tackles, nine sacks, 12 stops for losses and a forced fumble as a senior. … His top games were a 10-tackle, one-sack performance vs. Tyler Lee High and a three-sack effort vs. Lufkin High. … Recorded eight stops, a sack and 10 quarterback pressures in a victory against Arlington Bowie High. He made 72 tackles (26 solos), 10 stops for losses and five sacks as a junior. … Saw limited action at tight end and moved up to the varsity for team's run to the 5A Division II championship game as a sophomore. … Added three letters in baseball (pitcher, first base), earning all-district honors after posting a better than .400 batting average as a senior. … Also pitched a one-hitter.

Liberal Arts major. … Active in UT's community service program, as well as in his hometown of Tyler. … Born Timothy C. Crowder on 6/30/85 in Tyler, Texas.