Top athlete Quavaris Crouch signs with Tennessee

Tennessee secured a commitment from perhaps their biggest target in the 2019 class on Friday night. Four-star athlete Quavaris Crouch is going to be a Vol. Tennessee announced his signing late Friday night.

Crouch picked Tennessee over Clemson and Michigan after a year-long battle. Jeremy Pruitt got him on campus just a month after he was hired at Tennessee. They stuck with it, consistently getting him to Knoxville for more visits throughout the year. Crouch seemed like a Clemson lean for most of the year, with Michigan second. Late in the process, Tennessee picked up steam at the right time.

A surprise visit last weekend signaled Tennessee as the new leader with rumors swirling that Crouch would sign early and not announce until January. The signing early part of the equation turned out to be true, but Crouch decided that there was no way to keep his decision under wraps until January 5th.

The addition of Crouch will give the Vols their 19th signature of the 2019 class. It’s another huge win over two more top programs in college football.

Crouch is a special talent at running back, but the long-term projection may work better for him on the defensive side of the ball. The shelf life of a running back in the NFL just isn’t very long anymore. Pass rushers in today’s NFL make more money and can play longer. Crouch understands that.

“I want to be smart about it,” Crouch told the Washington post. “My passion is running back. I love to play running back. I love to score touchdowns. Realistically, I feel like linebacker is the best for me.” NFL running back Adrian Peterson endorsed that line of thinking in the article, saying he would take the same route if he had it to do over again.

In 2017, Crouch put up 14 sacks in addition to 3,142 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns. He had hip surgery after his big junior year and was limited with an ankle injury in 2018, according to The Observer. That’s something to monitor as he takes part in the All-American Bowl next month.