Shayne Crawford, a 6-3, 240-pound tight end from Pace (FL) High, is a former teammate of incoming Minnesota freshman kicker Ryan Santoso. Crawford has received recruiting interest from the Gophers and Gopher Hole caught up with him to learn the more about his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: What camps did you get a chance to attend this summer?
Shayne Crawford: Just Troy and Alabama.
Gopher Hole: When you attend those camps do you feel that you are able to pick up some things that will make you a better football player?
Shayne Crawford: Yes, sir. They didn’t really go over that many skills for a tight end. It was really a 7-on-7 camp. Alabama, I just went down for a visit. They wanted me to come and see the weight room and workout. I really didn’t get to do the camp there. I just met Nick Saban and the recruiter and then we went home.
Gopher Hole: What colleges are you hearing from the most right now?
Shayne Crawford: Alabama, UCF and Minnesota. Those are my top three choices anyways.
Gopher Hole: Have you narrowed it down to those three or are you still looking at other schools?
Shayne Crawford: Those are my three. Those are the three that I really want, either out of those three if I can’t have anyone else.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about trying to take some visits to some schools before your high school season starts or would you take some official visits?
Shayne Crawford: I have been wanting to. Coach Sawyel has been talking to me about Minnesota, but my parents really couldn’t take me. I about got a chance to go out there, but the kid that was going to take me broke his wrist the day before, so we didn’t go.
Gopher Hole: What do you know about Minnesota?
Shayne Crawford: Coach Sawyel sends me a lot of links and it looks like a very nice place. My friend, Ryan Santoso, came from Pace and he is going up there. I am hearing a lot of good things about it.
Gopher Hole: What has he told you about Minnesota so far?
Shayne Crawford: It is a really nice place. He says that he loves the coaches and that they are all really nice and that is what I like. That is what I want to see in college. I want to hang out with my coaches and be cool with them and know that they have my back.
Gopher Hole: What are the coaches saying to you?
Shayne Crawford: So far, I have been talking to Sawyel. He is telling me that he would love for me to come for a visit. That is pretty much what we talk about. He is always asking me about how my summer is going every time we talk and I tell him about the camps we go to and stuff that we have been doing in football. That is pretty much it. I would love to come for a visit and actually meet him.
Gopher Hole: Have you talked about trying to come up for an official visit?
Shayne Crawford: Yes, sir. He said that he will take care of everything. He’ll handle everything. The last time we talked, he said that we’ll figure everything out. I tried to contact him yesterday, actually. I’ll probably have to call him back sometime this week.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a tight end?
Shayne Crawford: Blocking, especially blocking. That is pretty much my whole highlights, blocking. I have a couple of catches. I can also catch very well, too, but over everything, it is just blocking. I love to hit, so that is good.
Gopher Hole: Sounds like you are on a team that primarily likes to run the ball. Is that the case?
Shayne Crawford: Yes. We are in the “I” formation. We are the only team around here that runs the “I.”
Gopher Hole: That probably helps your blocking, but it likely means that you aren’t getting a ton of catches either.
Shayne Crawford: Yes, sir, but we still go to all these 7-on-7 camps and I have always wanted to be a wide receiver until I got to high school they put me a tight end because I was bigger. I can catch very well. Check out my highlight films.
Gopher Hole: What things are you working on to improve yourself as a football player?
Shayne Crawford: We work out every day. Me and my neighbor go on a jog every morning. When the school season starts in the morning, I try to go to the gym. Going to camps and working out. We are doing a lot of speed training. We are running every day.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main factor that makes you pick School A over School B or C?
Shayne Crawford: If I like the atmosphere. I want to like the place that I am going. I kind of want to stay in Florida, but I would love to go to Minnesota, too.
Gopher Hole: Have you ever been to Minnesota in your whole life?
Shayne Crawford: No, sir, but based on all the links that Coach Sawyel is sending me, I am getting a pretty good idea of what it looks like.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about what you would like to major in college?
Shayne Crawford: I have thought about education, but I haven’t really given that much thought to it, but right now, I am thinking about education.
Gopher Hole: Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet?
Shayne Crawford: Yes, sir. I took the ACT. I got a 17.
Gopher Hole: Do you come from an athletic family?
Shayne Crawford: No, sir.
Gopher Hole: What do you like about the tight end position the most?
Shayne Crawford: Blocking, Hitting, actually. It is the best. I had been recently playing both ways. I am playing defensive tackle, too. It is really fun.
Gopher Hole: Do you think that you would stay at tight end in college or is there a possibility if you grow and fill out that you might move to an offensive line position?
Shayne Crawford: I would love to stay at tight end. I want to stay at tight end. I have never had a coach ask me to move to offensive line. I am always willing to try it if a team needs it, but I have never had a coach tell me that he could see me playing offensive line.
Gopher Hole: Do you play any other sports or are you just football only?
Shayne Crawford: Football. It is pretty much year-round for me. Even in the offseason, we are always doing something.
Gopher Hole: What do you like about Alabama?
Shayne Crawford: I don’t know. Alabama one day came to the school and I didn’t really get a chance to meet them, but when I went down there for a visit, I met Coach Lance Thompson. I just liked the way that they joked around. They had fun out there. Like they didn’t really yell at anybody. That is one reason that I like them. I don’t really have that much experience at Alabama yet, but they are one of the top three that is keeping in touch with me.
Gopher Hole: What do you like about Central Florida?
Shayne Crawford: I don’t know much about them. I just talk to Brent Key (Central Florida Assistant Head Coach/OL Coach/Recruiting Coordinator) all the time, but I don’t really have that much information. The only school that I actually know a little bit about is Minnesota,
Gopher Hole: Is that mostly because of Ryan or is it from dealing with the coaches?
Shayne Crawford: Dealing with the coaches. They have done a really good job of keeping in touch.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for your high school team this season?
Shayne Crawford: We have a lot of expectations right now. We just had a team meeting the other night about all our goals. We ARE going to the playoffs this year. We are hoping to go to state. Our other goal is to beat our rivals. We have a trophy that goes back and forth and we have had it for nine years and the senior team just lost it last year and we are really hoping to get it back this year.
Gopher Hole: Have you even thought about when you would try to make a decision on a school? Are you going to try to take some visits during the year or would you wait until after the season?
Shayne Crawford: I am hoping near midseason because I need to stay focused on my team right now and after awhile, see how everything goes and how I can handle and take some visits.
Gopher Hole: What offers do you have right now?
Shayne Crawford: UCF told me that when I get my ACT requirements up that they will offer me a scholarship. Alabama said that they would love to offer me a scholarship, but I need to get my ACT score up and then Minnesota, he said he would definitely want to offer me a scholarship. Delta State called me a couple of days ago and he said that they would love to offer me a scholarship. But everything is on my ACT score. I have got to get that up.
Gopher Hole: Is that one thing that you have been working on to improve your academics to get some of those opportunities?
Shayne Crawford: Yes, sir.