Word is supposed to come by mail, traditionally packaged in the form of a football with a certificate and a congratulatory note.
For former Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch, the mail came too late. Or perhaps it was too early.
Regardless, Crouch and his wife, Nikki, missed the message, having left for a Jamaican vacation on March 8. Three days later, before the National Football Foundation released the list of the players newly elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, Crouch got a text message from former college teammate Matt Davison, the Huskers’ associate athletic director for football.
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“Can you call me?” Davison asked.
Crouch said no. His phone didn’t work well on a beach in the Caribbean. “He was like, ‘You can’t call me?'” Crouch said. “Now this is getting weird. I’m wondering if it’s an emergency.”
Davison asked if Crouch could use FaceTime to reach him back in Lincoln. They connected on Nikki’s phone, and Eric saw three faces on the screen: Davison, coach Scott Frost and former coach Tom Osborne, who recruited all three of the former players on this call to Nebraska.
Crouch, 41, still didn’t get it. He thought maybe Davison, Frost and Osborne wanted to say hi. Immediately, though, they broke the news. The 2001 Heisman Trophy winner and last QB to lead the Huskers to a conference title, Crouch was the 21st player from Nebraska to earn this honor. He’ll be enshrined in December at a ceremony in New York.
“I thought they were playing some kind of joke on me,” Crouch said. “But they all said some nice things. It wasn’t a long call. They knew I was on vacation. But it meant a lot. Matt was a teammate, and he’s a good friend. I’ve been getting to know Scott more since he’s been back in Nebraska.”
As for Osborne, Crouch redshirted in the coach’s final season, 1997, as Frost led the Huskers to a 13-0 finish and share of the national title.
“(Osborne) was a big part of the reasons I was at Nebraska,” Crouch said. “Obviously, it meant a lot.”
The Crouches have since returned to Omaha, Eric’s hometown, retrieved their mail and hunkered down as the COVID-19 outbreak interrupts life. Eric and Nikki own and operate Crouch Recreation, a playground equipment company.
“We’re still making a lot of phone calls,” Eric said. “We’re pumping out proposals and designs. It’s still full-steam ahead, other than having to stay out of the schools. But we find ways to adapt.”
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Crouch graduated from Millard North and has taken an active role in the Elkhorn community since his playing career ended nearly a decade ago. He spent time on the roster of three NFL teams but played only in the CFL before dabbling with a couple of upstart leagues.
This week, Crouch visited with The Athletic about the Hall of Fame election, his Nebraska career and relationships forged because of it.
You’re a Heisman Trophy winner. Why were you surprised to learn about the College Football Hall of Fame?
I’ve been zeroing in on other things. It really is a tremendous honor; it just caught me off guard. It gives me an opportunity to thank the people who were there along the way for me — my teammates and trainers and coaches, every single one of them. You start reading about this Hall of Fame, and it’s not all about your football career. It’s about continuing to be effective in the game of football. I feel like I have done that in many ways. We do things to give back to the community.
You’re going in with a decorated group that includes Eric Dickerson, Steve McNair and Keith Byars. What are your thoughts on the class?
I’ve met (Dickerson) a few times. I sent him a text message, telling him congratulations. He responded back and said hopefully we can see each other in December at the ceremony. It hit me when I got back home. There was a note in the football with a certificate that said of the 5.34 million who’ve played and coached college football since 1869, there’s only 1,010 players and 219 coaches who’ve been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. That’s a pretty nice award.
You’re joining another club that includes Johnny Rodgers and Mike Rozier. What’s it been like to share the spotlight with Nebraska’s other Heisman winners over the past two decades?
It’s great. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them and their family members and friends. The way that we talk to each other, it’s almost like brothers do. We’ve done so many events and golf outings and attended Heisman ceremonies, signings and appearances. A lot of times, people don’t understand that Mike and Johnny are very giving of their time. They both do a lot with travel and events and fundraisers. That’s tough work. Being around them, I’ve learned a lot. I’m really fortunate to be a part of that exclusive club. They’re great people. I love them to death.
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How about the camaraderie among the club of former Nebraska quarterbacks?
I think it can be better. There are a lot of guys who don’t live here, and I don’t think a lot of us try all that hard. But we have that bond in common. You were the star. You were the leader. We can all relate.
I talked to Tommy Armstrong this year more than ever. That’s been good. He’s still playing, and I know that can be tough to go after options in Canada and with arena ball. He’s trying to live his dream. I can identify. We’ve had some good talks. He’s recently married and probably wants to start a family. Traveling around to play football and getting paid nothing to do it, it’s a really tough way to live.
I talk to Steve Taylor. He and I want to put together a former QB golf event. I sat down with Jerry Tagge. I’d like to see him more. He’s such a great guy and huge part of Nebraska’s success and quarterback history. I’ve been around Tommie (Frazier) for a long time, too. He’s here locally. Johnny, Mike and myself just got done helping him at an event for Lutheran Family Services.
And with Scott, when I swing through Lincoln, I like to go in and see him and Matt and (secondary coach) Travis Fisher. I played with him in St. Louis for a short time.
How do you spend most of your time now?
We’ve had Crouch Recreation for 16 years. Playgrounds, scoreboard, video boards, bleachers — we’re involved with all of it. Something else that takes up a lot of my time and interest is ARQ (Athletics), which is a 7-on-7 passing league at the start of our fourth year. It’s citywide in Omaha and expanded into Lincoln. I’m on the board for the Nebraska Greats Foundation and the Elkhorn Athletic Association. I was a co-founder in that organization. We’ve helped grow youth sports in the community.
I spend some time traveling to help out former friends, teammates and Heisman winners. Our daughter, Lexi, is a junior in Lincoln. (Son) Carsen’s a sophomore at Elkhorn South. They’re pushing away a little bit, but that’s just their age. Lexi played volleyball and ran track. Carsen plays football and runs track. Unfortunately, I don’t know what’s going to happen with track season. We never pushed them, but we always have wanted them to do at least one sport.
Are you surprised that your coach at Nebraska, Frank Solich, is still at it at age 75, now the oldest coach in major college football?
I’m not surprised at all that he’s still coaching. He’s such a committed person and a great coach. When you’ve got that talent, you’ve got to ride it. He was one of the first guys who called to congratulate me last week — and (former Nebraska quarterbacks coach) Turner (Gill), too. Those guys were huge influences on me.
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There were some tough times at the beginning of my career with the Bobby Newcombe battle, but those guys were solid people. They’re salt of the earth, great coaches. They cared about me as a human being and made sure I was going to leave Nebraska as a better person. That means a lot to me.
What rank as the enduring memories of your Nebraska career?
There are a lot of great moments. And a lot of moments I wish I had back. I wanted to win a national title. That was important. We didn’t get that job done. I definitely didn’t want to lose to Kansas State (in 1998 and 2000) or Colorado (in 2001). The Miami loss (in the 2002 Rose Bowl) was tough. It was tough to lose to Oklahoma my junior year (in 2000). We jumped on them and let it slip through our fingers. But those losses are completely outweighed by the successes and things that I learned at Nebraska.
When I look back, it was such a great experience. One of the things that this (election to the Hall of Fame) has done is made me reflect. Each time you reflect, new memories come back. It’s not always the same ones that people think. For me, it’s sometimes a memory of signing an autograph for a kid or taking a picture with somebody. I hear these stories about people I met after a game. I didn’t realize the impact I had at the time with kids and fans. It’s a pretty good feeling.
You didn’t mention your Heisman moment, the touchdown catch in the 2001 win against Oklahoma.
All the big plays all stand out. But sometimes when I’m thinking about my career, it comes down to the grassroots stuff — working so hard at practice that it made you want to quit football. If you stick through it, the games are easy. There’s nothing that I did on my own. I get the hardware. I’m thankful for it. But I had great teammates.
(Photo of Crouch in 1999: Elsa Hasch /Allsport)
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