Jackson’s E.J. Crowell named Mr. Football

 

 

 

By JIMMY WIGFIELD

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former Jackson running back E.J. Crowell was as sure of winning the Mr. Football award as he was of winning a game and shattering any defense that tried to stop him.

But when his name was called Tuesday and he secured the state’s most prestigious individual high school honor in his hands — like a football he wasn’t going to let go of —  he was overcome with emotion.

The enormity of the moment washed over him and did something to him that nothing nor anybody else has done — for just a few seconds, he slowed down and grappled with history.

“When they called my name, the first thing that came to my mind was my Pops because he pushed me to the hardest, the fullest, telling me to get better each and every day, lock in on my classes, schoolwork and be a better man — better than what he had been,” Crowell said of his father, Eriskey Crowell.

Perhaps no high school running back in Alabama has ever been better than Crowell, who was named the 44^th Mr. Football by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, the crowning moment of a high school career that saw him rise from the gritty Depot area of Jackson to become one of the nation’s best running backs.

Crowell — who reclassified and is already enrolled at Alabama, where he is widely expected to play as a true freshman — rushed for 6,333 yards and 91 touchdowns in just three varsity seasons. He averaged an incredible 11.7 yards per carry in his career.

Crowell — a five-star prospect who was ranked among the top two running backs in the country by 247Sports and Rivals — didn’t play in the 2025 season opener against Saraland after the Alabama High School Athletic Association said he violated its amateurism rule but that only stoked his furnace.

“Y’all done woke up a monster,” he warned before going on to lead the state in rushing with 2,632 yards and 35 TDs as a junior, often playing barely more than a half. He finished his career by running for 304 yards on 25 carries and five touchdowns in the Aggies’ 52-0 rout of Anniston for Jackson’s second straight Class 4A state championship in December.

Opposing defenses were no match for Crowell’s blend of speed, power, balance and vision.

“I’d love to say that I trained him up to be this great running back but he’s gifted, he’s blessed, and I am just proud to be a part of it, just to have a small piece in his story,” former Jackson coach Cody Flournoy said. “Like a lot of these guys here, he could have went down some different paths but credit to him and his family for buying in and doing things right.”

Crowell summed up his running style to the Call News in a story last summer: “I’m angry every time. I’ve just got to run until they get tired of me.”

Flournoy, who is now at Central Phenix City, said one trait of Crowell’s stood out.

“It’s his balance,” Flournoy said. “It’s hard to explain. You have to see it, just stepping out of tackles, absorbing licks and just never stopping. … He never shied away from contact. He has good vision, he has great speed, he’s really strong, he’s balanced. He’s got it all. That’s how you draw it up.”

Crowell grew up in The Depot area of Jackson and everyone there and anyone who tried to tackle him knows what that means.

“That’s where the railroad tracks run through the paper mill,” said Jackson assistant coach Jimmy “BooJu” Martin, who has known and coached Crowell since he’s been playing the sport and nicknamed him “Nailhead” when he played linebacker in park football. “I pick at him all the time and tell him, ‘You run up and down the railroad tracks.’ If you’re from The Depot and you play football, you was known to be one of the toughest people around. E.J. has always been a tough guy. … He runs the ball like he’s pissed off at everybody and everybody around him got to pay for it. When you want to make an example on how to tackle, he was the one ’cause he was gonna come with everything and try to kill you every time.”

Crowell hopes his success will motivate the children who live where he grew up.

“The kids look up to me and they want to be like me,” he said. “Every time I go back home, they all want to play around with me, joke around, and it just means a lot seeing the little kids that want to be like me.”

Crowell is the 18^th running back to be named Mr. Football, the most prolific position among the winners. Quarterbacks (16) and wide receivers (6) are the next two.

Crowell is just the fifth Class 4A player to win the award. Class 6A has the most Mr. Footballs (23), the vast majority when it was the state’s largest class.

Thirteen Mr. Football winners have signed with Alabama and 10 with Auburn.

Crowell is getting acclimated to the Tide after his early enrollment and said he expects to play as a true freshman.

“Of course,” he said. “I’m getting a lot bigger, a lot stronger.”

He said he is pleased with Alabama’s incoming offensive linemen as coach Kalen DeBoer tries to vastly improve the Tide’s weak running game.

“They’re big guys, so I’m ready for that,” Crowell said. “I’m not concerned. I know it’s going to get better as the spring and fall camp goes on.”

Crowell was also named the state’s Class 4A Back of the Year, following former Aggies and current South Carolina quarterback Landon Duckworth, who won it last year.

“It was a goal,” Crowell said of being named Mr. Football. “Last year I was here and I didn’t get an award or nothing, so I had a mindset to come here and get this.”

Flournoy knew he would get Crowell’s best in the season just finished.

“Anybody that’s watched him play is like, ‘Hey, this guy’s different,’” Flournoy said. “Landon and E.J., every time you raised the bar for them, they exceeded it every time.”

Jackson linebacker Laquon Whisenhunt, the Aggies’ leading tackler the last three years, was named the Class 4A Lineman of the Year.

MR. FOOTBALL WINNERS

• 1982: Tommy Compton, Vigor QB

• 1983: Freddy Weygand, Emma Sansom WR

• 1984: Roderick Green, Gardendale WR

• 1985: Pierre Goode, Hazlewood RB

• 1986: Larry Ware, R.E. Lee RB

• 1987: Robert Jones, Parker RB

• 1988: Darrell “Lectron” Williams, Vigor RB

• 1989: Steve Coleman, Pike Co. RB

• 1990: David Palmer, Jackson-Olin QB

• 1991: Robert Davis, Homewood RB

• 1992: Freddie Kitchens, Etowah QB

• 1993: Thomas Banks, West Jefferson RB

• 1994: Dawud Rasheed, Shades Valley RB

• 1995: Gormon Thornton, Jeff Davis TE

• 1996: Antoneyo Williams, Central Tuscaloosa RB

• 1997: Mac Campbell, Alexandria RB

• 1998: DeMarco McNeil, Blount DL

• 1999: Cory Whisenhunt, Springville RB

• 2000: Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, Etowah RB

• 2001: Brandon Cox, Hewitt-Trussville QB

• 2002: Jamarcus Russell, Williamson QB

• 2003: Chris Nickson, Pike Co. QB

• 2004: Jarod Bryant, Hoover QB

• 2005: Andre Smith, Huffman OL

• 2006: Larry Smith, Prattville QB

• 2007: Julio Jones, Foley WR

• 2008: Clint Moseley, Leroy QB

• 2009: Coty Blanchard, Cherokee Co. QB

• 2010: Jamal Golden, Wetumpka QB

• 2011: T.J. Yeldon, Daphne RB

• 2012: Jeremy Johnson, Carver-Montgomery QB

• 2013: Roc Thomas, Oxford RB

• 2014: Kerryon Johnson, Madison Academy RB

• 2015: Tyler Johnston, Spanish Fort QB

• 2016: LaDamian Webb, Beauregard RB

• 2017: Asa Martin, Austin RB

• 2018: Bo Nix, Pinson Valley QB

• 2019: Kristian Story, Lanett QB

• 2020: GaQuincy “Kool Aid” McKinstry, Pinson Valley DB

• 2021: Ryan Peppins, Thompson WR

• 2022: Ryan Williams, Saraland WR

• 2023: Ryan Williams, Saraland WR

• 2024: K.J. Lacey, Saraland QB

• 2025: E.J. Crowell, Jackson RB

WINNERS BY CLASS

• Class 7A: 1

• Class 6A: 23

• Class 5A: 7

• Class 4A: 5

• Class 3A: 4

• Class 2A: 2

• Class 1A: 2

WINNERS BY POSITION

• RB: 18

• QB: 16

• WR: 6

• TE: 1

• OL: 1

• DL: 1

• DB: 1