Crouch Finds Peace in Plan From Faith

God's plan.
Two simple words that form an even simpler phrase.

Popularized by hip-hop artist Drake and coined by the masses, meaning that every step in life – good or bad – is a part of a bigger plan laid out for you.

For sophomore linebacker Quavaris Crouch, the phrase seemingly permeates its way through every aspect of his life, including the game he suits up in Orange & White to play each week.

"I really didn't choose football. I feel like football just chose me in a way," Crouch said. "I say that God always had his hand on me. I didn't grow up in the best neighborhood. There was a lot of stuff that I saw early and my grandma didn't sugar coat anything to me, but football just kept me out of trouble."

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Crouch was raised by his grandparents, Molly Dunlap and Ronnie Franks, who instilled in him a work ethic that pushed him through every obstacle life threw his way.

"One thing I know about myself is that if I'm not good at something, I will work. I will work to get better," Crouch said.

When the game found him in elementary school, he showed a knack for it the second the ball touched his hands.

"My first touch of the ball as a running back was a touchdown," Crouch recalled. "I was playing the Dolphins in the league back home. When I got to the house, I figured I might be pretty good."

Good indeed, and blessed with abilities he says were "given by God" to keep him on the right path.

Entering Harding University High School, Crouch was not the player he would eventually become, relying solely on those given abilities.

"I wasn't a great player in high school," Crouch said. "I say that, because I wasn't coached up my freshman year of high school. I wasn't good, I was just raw. God gave me a lot of good athletic abilities, so I was doing alright, but I wasn't a student of the game and I just didn't know a lot yet. My sophomore year I got a lot better."

Crouch was dominant on both sides of the ball in high school, bulldozing opponents as a pure downhill running back and hitting everything in sight as one of the best linebackers in the state of North Carolina.

As he dominated on the field, the offers began rolling in from schools across the country.

It created a hype that constantly surrounded Crouch, a hype he tried to not get too sucked into, for it took away from the goals he and his teammates had established for themselves.

"I tried to not worry about all of the stuff in the background that was going on," Crouch said. "Looking back, I wish I would have enjoyed it more, but in my junior year we won every game except one. We won the whole thing. We won the state championship and my school hadn't won that in so long."

Since the 1950's in fact. It was a championship won by a team that seemingly beat the odds every time they stepped on the field, trusting in the man upstairs every step of the way.

"That year was just so special. My elementary school had a fake rock that we drew scripture and crosses on that we used all year, every time we touched the rock, we knew we were about to go get it."

"We just based everything off God. That's what brought us together. There were guys on our team that didn't believe, but we didn't push it on them or anything. It was nothing else but the Lord that allowed us to win.

"I say that because, we had it tough, we practiced on a dusty baseball field and we had rusty weights, but we didn't worry about all of that, we just wanted to be a good football team."

Yet, the triumph did not come without pain.
Crouch played just about every snap for the Rams during that junior season with a torn labrum and a bruised femur bone.

Entering his senior campaign, those injuries sidelined him for what was supposed to be a chance at a second straight state title.

Despite the injury, Crouch was still seen as one of the nation's top prospects.

He visited a number of schools and had offers from just about everywhere.

He asked for advice from everyone in his life.

Yet, when it came time to make his decision, he trusted the guidance of a familiar face.

"I remember riding through the mountains on a visit to Tennessee and I just felt peace," Crouch reminisced. "I had never felt peace going to any recruiting trip before. I normally felt stressed and didn't always want to be there, but when I was going through the mountains that's the only time I've ever felt peace. I just thought there must be something special about this place if I'm already feeling peace here, so I just let God guide me."

Upon arrival in East Tennessee, Crouch was met with a change in position.

The lifelong running back was told that the best way for him to impact the Vols, would be a permanent move to the opposite side of the ball.

A transition that required a massive learning curve.

"When I got here as a freshman, I didn't pop like I was supposed to, because it was a learning curve for me to play defense," Crouch recalled. "I was always a good player and when I got here I wasn't playing like I should have been. I started as an inside linebacker and that was a lot. So, I moved to outside linebacker and I had never gotten in a three-point stance in my life like that, so there was a massive learning curve there as well.

"But, my problem was that every time I didn't have immediate success on defense I would always say that I would just go back and run the ball," Crouch continued. "So, I messed myself up in that way, because I was never all the way in on playing defense, I was always half out, so I could never be the best version of the defensive player I wanted to be, because I was still worried about playing running back."

Eventually, he needed to commit.

Eventually, he did, not because of what a move to the defensive side of the ball would do for him, but what it would do for the people who helped him get to Rocky Top in the first place.

"I feel like if I had played running back, I would have had success much quicker than I already had," Crouch said. "I say that, because I knew how to run the ball downhill already. But, that wasn't the plan for me to be able to take care of my family for a long time."

It was a change that paid off for both Crouch and the Vols.
In 2019 as a true freshman, Crouch tallied 28 total tackles, one tackles for loss and half a sack.

He became a staple in the middle of the Vol defense as the season wore on, before his number was eventually called to play the position that initially brought him to the game.

In UT's 2019 win over Missouri to clinch bowl eligibility, Crouch came in at running back early in the second quarter in a goal line situation and did what he knows best.

He ran straight down hill, busting his way into the end zone to give the Orange & White a first half lead.

It was the first of two touchdowns last season, with the second coming in Tennessee's bowl victory over Indiana.

Entering a pandemic-filled sophomore year, Crouch has continued to produce, tallying 18 total tackles in UT's last two games, with a career-high 11 coming against Kentucky last weekend.

With that production has come the continuing trust in his faith. A trust that stems from everything life has thrown his way.

"My faith is strong because I've lost a lot and I've failed a lot," Crouch said. "I just know it couldn't have been anything else but the lord. I'm not saying I grew up terrible, but I did not grow up good. There was a lot of stuff that happened and I look back all the time and think, 'How did I make it out of that and have the mindset that I have?' It can't be anything else but God."

As he continues to push forward, the game will always be a part of his future, but when he gets done playing, he hopes he can strive towards a goal he's had for a number of years.
"After football I want to be a youth pastor, because I want to impact kids' lives," Crouch said. "At times I am still fighting that, because I don't live right all the time either. I always look at myself and say, 'How can I be a youth pastor if I don't live right all the time?' That's just something I'm going to grow into, but I definitely want to do that when I'm done playing.

"In terms of where I want to do it, I have no idea. Everything is just going to happen and it's going to go. I just put that in God's hands, because he's going to use me and send me where I need to go."

It is His plan that has put UT's young linebacker on the right path and it will continue to be that way forever moving forward.

University of Tennessee | Official Athletics Site

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