Bama holds its breath as E.J. Crowell rides the train to stardom and decides which track to take

 

 

By JIMMY WIGFIELD

JACKSON — E.J. Crowell is in a hurry. A hurry to make his own hole before his blockers can. A hurry to complete his high school career, which he has already outgrown. A hurry to become an SEC superstar, to stand on the Heisman Trophy stage, to pose with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being drafted, a hurry to show that a teenager from The Depot can make it big.

Crowell also runs with fury, not necessarily because he is mad at the world but as a byproduct of being raised near the train tracks in The Depot, where if you’re not tough, you’re not a member. Perhaps that explains why he carries the football as if he has tucked a live grenade under his arm and is looking to stuff it under somebody’s shoulder pads or down their throat.

The view from where he runs spans supremely from sea to shining sea and is uncluttered — the Jackson High School five-star prospect is the nation’s No. 1-ranked running back by Rivals’ reckoning. But the view of those who see No. 13 in purple running at them is a good bit narrower, more terrifying and luckless, the same as standing in front of a Norfolk Southern engine coming through The Depot hauling the lumber, smoke billowing from its nostrils. Or is that Crowell himself? Like a train, you can’t outrun him, so you can either get out of his way or be used as grease for his tracks.

Crowell’s clock ticks more rapidly and differently than most. He is quiet, even introverted, and babysits his sister’s child, yet admits he runs the football as if he wants to stomp the living guts out of anybody who gets in his way.

“I’m angry every time,” said Crowell, whose wrath multiplies when trash talking is involved. “I’ve just got to run until they get tired of me.”

After estimating it might take five defenders to put him on the ground with any kind of finality, Crowell addressed what drives him and it goes back to his motivational North Star, the man who introduced him to football at the age of 7.

“I just think about how my dad would want to see me play,” Crowell said.

Aggies assistant coach Jimmy “BooJu” Martin, who has known and coached Crowell since he’s been playing the sport, nicknamed him “Nailhead” back when he played linebacker in park football. As Crowell transitioned to running back in middle school, Martin would give him the ball only on third down, partly to give the other players a touch and partly to spare the opposition from assorted contusions and broken limbs.

“He runs the ball like he’s pissed off at everybody and everybody around him got to pay for it,” Martin said. “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.”

As Crowell, 17, grew up in The Depot, he saw the value of being the locomotive at an early age.

“That’s where the railroad tracks run through the paper mill,” Martin said. “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.”

Crowell said he grew up watching and emulating Heisman Trophy winners and All-Pros Ricky Williams, Barry Sanders and Derrick Henry, who if you could stitch them together would be an otherworldly combination of power, speed and hallucination. Crowell blends all three plus he has studied the straight-up stance of Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, the 2024 Heisman runner-up and the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The four great backs have spawned a fifth.

“It’s E.J. style,” Crowell said.

It’s led to career statistics of 3,701 yards, 56 touchdowns and 11 yards per carry in two varsity seasons, leading him to reclassify and leave high school a year early so he can start his college career. Last year, he had 1,964 yards and 31 touchdowns while averaging only 11 carries per game.

Imagine the records he’d set getting 20 to 30 carries a game! But that is of no concern to Crowell or Jackson coach Cody Flournoy, whose arsenal includes Landon Duckworth, one of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks, and receivers Jamarrion “Juice” Gordon and Keeyun “Red” Chapman, whose vise-grip hands and vertical leap (which could be measured with an altimeter) make him as challenging to cover as a bottle rocket. Chapman’s vertical leap is estimated at 42 to 44 inches — estimated because, as Flournoy said, “We began to have problems with our measuring tools as we stretched them all the way out” — putting Chapman on the same level as NBA legend LeBron James and far above any defenders.

It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. Crowell draws defenders away from the passing game and Duckworth, Chapman and Gordon suck defenders away from the box.

“I’ve always been a team player,” Crowell said. “Whatever they can do to take more carries off me and get Landon, Red and Juice and other people more exposure, I’m willing to do that. I ain’t never been selfish or nothing like that. I just want to see everybody win.”

Flournoy said it is pointless to beat opponents 84-0 when 42-0 will do without risking a freak injury to Crowell with needless extra carries.

“I think he understands that and the guys do,” Flournoy said. “They want to win football games. Alvin Henderson was setting the (state) rushing record last year. Well, if we wanted to, we could have pushed for that. But we’re going to let Landon be who he is and take shots with Red, too, and Juicy. As long as everything’s rolling good — and it has been — you score touchdowns and win games, everybody’s happy.”

One college program is going to be ecstatic on Thursday, when Crowell announces his choice at a commitment party at the Jackson Community House at 6 p.m. His final six are Alabama, Florida State, Texas, Georgia, Auburn and Florida. Crowell originally planned to reveal his decision on New Year’s Eve, then changed his mind.

“I just wanted to get the process over with,” he said.

Alabama is generally considered the favorite — “Alabama, just growing up in the state, I feel like it’s a dream come true,” Crowell said — but he could change his mind about that, too. Crowell could select a program that prizes a physical running game, perhaps Georgia or Texas, instead of the pass-first offense of Tide coach Kalen DeBoer, who has yet to prove himself in the SEC as Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart and Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian have. Smart made a strong case during Crowell’s recent official visit and has connections that can sway Crowell.

“Talking with coach Smart, they like to play freshmen,” Crowell said. “I can make a huge impact as a freshman, like Nate Frazier did last year. So, I’m really thinking hard on Georgia. They made a big impression.”

Also, Bulldogs running backs coach Josh Crawford has family ties in Jackson, as his parents and grandparents were raised there and his aunt taught there for 30 years.

Texas also has its plusses. “Each back coach Sark had in the last five or six years, he’s had a 1,000-yard rusher and that’s my goal, to be a 1,000-yard rusher in college,” Crowell said.

Alabama — apparently feeling a sense of urgency in the face of the strong pushes from Georgia and Texas — took the unusual step of bringing in Nick Saban to meet with Crowell during his official visit last weekend, the first time Saban was on campus for an official visit since before he retired.

 

‘All the tools’

 

Crowell (6-0, 220) — who runs a 4.48 40-yard dash, squats 582 pounds, benches 300 and races lightning bolts for kicks — began showing how elite he is last year against Class 6A power Saraland, which never allowed a 100-yard game by any running back in the last 13 games. But Crowell made the Spartans appear to be marshmallows in the opener, running for 202 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns in the 35-27 defeat, the Aggies’ only loss in 2024. And he wasn’t even in top condition.

“E.J.’s got to get in better game shape,” Flournoy said afterward with a straight face. “If we had played this game at the end of the year — and that’s something we talked about — it might have been different.”

Former Saraland defensive coordinator Brett West, who is now at UMS-Wright, didn’t want to ponder that prospect.

“He runs like somebody owes him lunch money, like he’s pissed off all the time,” West said. “He’s a stud. He’s got all the tools. … Anything that you could want in a collegiate or prototypical running back, he’s got it. I only saw him as a sophomore and he was a grown man at 15, 16 years old. It’s kind of scary to think about it but I would foresee him being even better this year than he was last year. Whoever is calling plays against them that week better make sure that they’re saying their prayers at night and living right.”

Crowell believes in living right himself. He said he puts no emphasis on NIL money, declaring if he performs as expected, the money and the dream of an NFL career will take care of itself.

“You’ve got to keep God first, just grind and learn the playbook as fast as I can so I can get on the field,” he said. “I just want to get out of high school and get to college and play. Since I started playing football, it’s been a dream to be in the NFL.”

 

Only on third down

 

Crowell’s start in football gave no signs of professional ambitions, only his toughness.

“I played cornerback and used to grab people by the neck and tackle them,” he said. “And then the next year, my dad taught me how to tackle, so I got switched over to linebacker. I learned linebacker all my life. I just like hitting folks. At first, I didn’t want to get hit for real but I just learned how to take the hits and just lay my shoulders down, just run through folks.”

Crowell’s father, Eriskey, is a major constant in his life and a big reason why he runs through folks.

“His dad was always there,” Martin said. “His dad pushed him so hard when he was younger and he always fed off his dad.”

One example explains the dynamic between Crowell and his father. Martin recalled when Crowell was 10, he missed a tackle against a highly regarded running back from Phenix City on the first play. His father reacted with a shrill “Get on his butt!” Not one to disappoint his Pops, Crowell wiped the tears from his eyes, blew up the Phenix City back on the next play and caused a fumble.

“The next time that kid turned the corner, E.J. almost kills him,” Martin said.

Years later, Martin, who also coached Jackson’s middle school team, began experimenting with Crowell at running back in the eighth grade, wondering if he would be as good in the backfield as he was at linebacker. He proved so exceptional that Martin gave him the ball only on third down, even on third-and-25.

“I told him we had to let the other kids develop because if I just gave it to him every time on first down, nine times out of 10, he was scoring,” Martin said. “If he didn’t score, it was going to be a 20- or 30-yard gain.”

Crowell was introduced to a varsity practice as an eighth grader in the spring of 2023 and a freshman in the fall.

“He was very wide eyed,” Flournoy said. “He showed bursts of being able to play. He was a little hesitant to the point where in the fall, he was not our number one running back. And then the guy in front of him had a turf-toe-type injury. In the last big scrimmage, he made our defense look pretty bad on several occasions. He just wouldn’t be tackled. It’s his balance. It’s hard to explain. You have to see it. And once everybody sees it, they know he’s different. Him just stepping out of tackles, absorbing licks and just never stopping.”

Flournoy knew Crowell checked every box.

“He never shied away from contact,” Flournoy said. “All the pieces got put together because 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.”

West said he was most impressed with Crowell’s yards after contact.

“You’re not going to arm tackle him,” West said. “You have one guy come and your other 10 better be swarming because it’s going to be a load for one guy to take.”

 

The evolution

 

 

Crowell continues to evolve as a running back, meaning nobody knows how good he can be.

“It’s like he’s still getting faster,” Flournoy said. “People ask how fast he is. I say he’s as fast as he needs to be. The last official time we had on him in the 100 (meters) was 10.6 (seconds) but he ran that because that’s what the guy next to him ran and he was beating that guy. He gets the gear that he needs to get. He’s growing and maturing like regular teenagers do but at 220 pounds and running the way he does, that’s a deadly combination. Getting to college, he’s going to have to develop a little bit more, just making sure he hits the right holes, allows his blocks to materialize, being patient. Like in spring, he was outrunning some of his blocks. We’ll tell him, ‘If you let them guys work for you, it’ll be a little bit easier.’ That’s something that he’ll pick up easy.”

Martin said Crowell has begun to understand all the facets of being a complete running back.

“He’s actually becoming a running back,” Martin said. “He’s not doing it off just skill anymore. He’s learning leverage, the leverage of blocking and stuff.”

Crowell impressed Texas running backs coach Chad Scott with his growing encyclopedia of running back knowledge when Scott visited Jackson this spring and insisted on testing Crowell on the play board.

“If you’d asked E.J. that stuff two years ago, I don’t know if he’d answer this right,” Martin said. “But he was sitting there giving feedback to coach Scott and it was like, hey, this kid is evolving. I saw it before my eyes. I knew that he had started putting in the board side of it to go with the physical side of it. It’s like he’s starting to open his heart up now. … It’s scary how good he will be. There’s so much other stuff he can do that he’s not gotten to yet.”

Flournoy has also seen Crowell’s emerging maturity.

“He’s having to make choices,” Flournoy said. “One of the things I was saying to him was just kind of the pressure of all this stuff, being this high-level athlete, because it’s all fun and everybody sees all that side of it. He was hanging out with Kirby (Smart) the other weekend and that’s pretty awesome. They’re always bombarding them with stuff on social media and I know that could wear on them but he’s matured in that area as well.”

 

Once in a lifetime

 

Despite all the national recruiting attention, Crowell remains a tough guy from The Depot and he isn’t going to forget it, nor let anyone else forget it.

He pulled a muscle during track season and finally got released for spring practice a few days before playing Mary G. Montgomery in an exhibition game but wasn’t about to tiptoe through the tulips.

“He missed a week or so of practice,” Flournoy said. “And he comes out there and he just made it a mission to let everybody know that he was still the man. So, he ran over a couple of guys.”

The fact that they were freshmen didn’t matter. Crowell wanted to include them because he has also left his cleat marks on sophomores, juniors and seniors.

“They all got welcomed to what it’s like trying to tackle E.J.,” Flournoy said. “I’m on one side of the field working with the secondary and all of a sudden, we hear some loud collisions and there was a couple of college coaches there and they were whoopin’ and hollerin’. It’s supposed to be a light day but E.J. had a lot of pent-up frustration.”

In the spring game against MGM, Crowell slammed through what will be one of the best defenses in Class 7A on an 11-yard touchdown run, recoiling into the end zone after he appeared to be stopped twice.

“We’re playing a spring game that don’t mean nothing against a team that we don’t see and he’s like, ‘Look, I’m gonna go score,’” Flournoy said.

Jackson fans know they are witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Crowell, Duckworth, Chapman and Gordon have sprouted from a town of 4,500 in a country of 340 million — none of them transferred in — and are among the nation’s best players. They are expected to lead the way to a second straight Class 4A state championship before becoming national figures the folks in Clarke County can watch on TV.

“This is truly a small homegrown team,” Flournoy said. “It’s what makes it fun for the local people because they watch these kids all the way through. These are truly Jackson kids that have grown up here and their parents graduated here and people have played with their grandparents. It just makes it a little bit more special.”

In fact, Crowell agonized over leaving Jackson early to begin his college career.

“To his credit, he was like, ‘Look, I’m gonna stay here and be a student,’” said Flournoy, who laid out Crowell’s choices: “You can rush for 2,000 yards this year and 2,000 yards a year after that and be one of the best high school players who ever played here. Or you can rush for 2,000 this year and go on to college. What’s best for you?”

After getting some good advice and assurances from the superintendent that he could accumulate the credits to graduate early, Crowell decided to reclassify.

“We know what’s best for me as a coach and for Jackson football would be him staying two more years,” Flournoy said. “But I really think it’s what’s best for him because he’s ready.”