Nate Crawford Commits to Missouri

 

Last weekend Nate Crawford committed to Missouri. The Pensacola, Florida defensive lineman chose Missouri over Louisville, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Mississippi State. The 6’4, 255 lbs Crawford felt he had a connection to the Tigers.

“Well, what really convinced me was that I felt like I was at home…The players and the people around made me feel like I was in the right place,” said Crawford.

Crawford wanted to commit to the Tigers in person with head coach Gary Pinkel. “I wanted to do it in person, so I could shake the coach’s hand,” he stated.

Although Crawford originally committed to Louisville, this commitment was a big surprise to everyone. I was especially surprised because Missouri lost to Alabama 42-10, during Crawford’s visit. He still plans to visit the Cardinals and handle the change in person. According to Crawford, he wants to look the Louisville coaches in the face.

I believe that the talent in the SEC was a big reason Crawford chose Missouri. In the SEC the Florida star can play against some of the nation’s top players. I’m excited to hear Crawford is going to play against Texas A&M’s QB Johnny Manziel, Florida’s RB Mike Gillislee and South Carolina’s RB Marcus Lattimore. I feel he’ll do great in the SEC and adapt quickly to the college level.

“My dream as a child was always to play in the SEC…I only had offers from Missouri and Kentucky and I had to jump on one of them. This is the SEC; I want to play against those big teams that didn’t want to give me a chance,” says Crawford.

With Crawford’s commitment to Missouri, the Tigers should have a really interesting team this year. Hopefully Crawford can help a Missouri defense that can really use his presence.