Isaiah Hassan Crowell ( ; born January 8, 1993) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. Ther ...
. He played
college football at
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and
Alabama State. Crowell was signed by the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
High school career
Crowell attended
George Washington Carver High School in
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
, where he played
football and ran track. During his high school career, he rushed for 4,872 yards with 61
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s on 429 carries for the Tigers football team. He was considered the best running back recruit by ''
Scout.com
Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...
'' and the fourth-best by ''
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
''.
In addition to football, Crowell was a standout
track & field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
athlete. He lettered all four years competing as a sprinter and long-distance runner. He won the
100-meter dash event at the 2009 MCSD Meet, recording a career-best time of 10.91 seconds. He posted career-bests of 22.38 in the 200m, 52.53 in the 400m, and 12:36.84 in the 3200m.
College career
University of Georgia
2011 season
Starting running back Washaun Ealey's transferring to
Jacksonville State in the spring led to a vacancy at that position for the 2011 season at the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
. Second string running back
Caleb King
Caleb King (born January 10, 1988) is a former American football running back who was a member of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Vikings as a rookie free agent in 2011. He played college footbal ...
was next in line to take over as the team's starting running back, but the senior was declared academically ineligible on July 8. The position was wide open during football practices in August and leading up to
Georgia's opening game at the
Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
against
Boise State on September 3. He earned the starting running back job for the Bulldogs as a freshman for their September 17 game against
Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...
. However, it was his fine performance against
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
on September 10 that created Crowell's chance to take over the starting role as tailback as the 6–0, 215-pound true freshman scored two touchdowns while rushing 16 times for 118 yards and catching two passes for 40 yards against the Gamecocks in a 45–42 heartbreaking loss to Coach
Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks. Against Coastal Carolina, Crowell had 16 rushes for 86 yards and highlighted his performance with a 27-yard touchdown run to open the game as Georgia went on to defeat the Chanticleers 59–0. In addition, he had a 12-yard reception in the contest.
After starting off 0–2, coach
Mark Richt's Georgia Bulldogs went on a 10-game winning streak and a first-place ranking in the SEC East, which placed Georgia in the
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...
on December 3. Georgia had a 10–2 record as the
AP College Football Poll ranked the Bulldogs No. 12 in the country.
During the season, Crowell had some breakout performances, such as his 30 carries, 147 yard-outing against
Ole Miss on September 24 in
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Ox ...
as Georgia won 27–13. Crowell followed up the Ole Miss performance with 104 yards rushing against
Mississippi State
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...
on October 1 as Georgia defeated the MSU Bulldogs, 24–10. He apparently had scored on a 49-yard touchdown run in the contest, but that play was cut short to only 14 yards after the
line judge had determined that Crowell's shoe had just touched the sideline — it appeared to be very close according to video replay. On October 8 at
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...
, Crowell ran into a stout
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
defense as he scored two touchdowns but was contained to 19 rushes for 58 yards and two receptions for five yards. Georgia defeated Tennessee 20–12.
Later in the season on October 29, Crowell helped Georgia win a narrow victory against SEC East
rival
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
24–20 as the true freshman ran with the football 18 times for 81 yards. Crowell had another breakout performance – this one against
Auburn as he rushed 24 times for 132 yards and a touchdown on November 12 as Georgia won convincingly by a score of 45–7. He also caught a pass for one yard against the Tigers.
An injury slowed Crowell down near the end of the regular season as he suffered a high ankle sprain on November 19 against
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
as the running back finished with two rushes for 11 yards. Georgia defeated the Wildcats 19–10. The injury caused Crowell to miss the regular-season finale against in-state rival
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
on November 26.
Georgia played nationally ranked #1
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
(12–0) in the
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...
on December 3 as Crowell and the Bulldogs would go on to take a lead and go into the locker room at halftime up 10–7. He struggled to get on track against the tough Tiger defense as Crowell finished with 10 rushes for 15 yards and a catch for negative three yards. LSU, led by defensive back-punt returner
Tyrann Mathieu
Tyrann Devine Mathieu (; born May 13, 1992) is an American football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU. In college he developed a reputation for causing turnovers, setting ...
, exploded in the second half as the Tigers won the contest, 42–10.
Crowell finished the season with 185 carries for 850 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He also had eight receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown in 12 games. On December 5, Crowell was named freshman of the year by
The Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newsp ...
. The Georgia Bulldogs were invited to play #12
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
(10–3) in the
Outback Bowl
The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...
in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
on January 2. Georgia lost the game in the third overtime 33–30 and fell to a 10–4 record.
On June 29, 2012, Crowell was arrested on possession of a weapon in a school zone, possession of a firearm with an altered identification, and carrying a concealed firearm.
Crowell was dismissed from the University of Georgia football team due to his arrest and his constant disciplinary problems—including failing a drug test.
Alabama State
2012 season
Crowell enrolled at
Alabama State in July 2012.
During the
2012 season, Crowell ran the ball well, having several good games for Alabama State, including the breakout performance he displayed on September 29 by rushing for 127 yards, which included a 61-yard touchdown run in a 54–14 win against
Alcorn State
Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States.
...
. He finished the 2012 season as the Hornets' leading rusher while helping Alabama State to a 7–4 record.
2013 season
In the
2013 season, Crowell helped lead Alabama State to an 8–4 record, good for third place in the SWAC East Division. He finished the year with 1,121 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns. His best game that season came against
Jackson State, where he rushed 18 times for 179 yards (averaging 9.9 yards a carry) and a touchdown. However, Alabama State lost to the Jackson State Tigers by a score of 30–23. Crowell had five 100-yard rushing games in the 2013 season. After the 2013 season, Crowell declared for the
2014 NFL Draft. He finished 20th in the 2013
Walter Payton Award
The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...
Voting.
Statistics
Professional career
Despite being projected to be selected as high as the fourth round,
Crowell did not get drafted. On May 10, 2014, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
and was given a
$10,000
signing bonus immediately.
Cleveland Browns
2014 season
As a rookie, Crowell shared backfield carries with
Terrance West
Terrance West (born January 28, 1991) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Towson and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. West has also played for the Tennessee Ti ...
and
Ben Tate
Benjamin Franklin Tate (born August 21, 1988) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Auburn. Tate also played for the Cleveland ...
. In Week 1, Crowell made his NFL debut, running for 32 yards on five carries and two touchdowns in a 30–27 loss to the
Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 3, Crowell scored his third touchdown of the season against the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
.
Crowell and rookie running back
Terrence West each scored a rushing touchdown, the first time two Browns rookies had done that in a single game since 1979, which was when
Dino Hall
Donald Richard "Dino" Hall (born December 6, 1955 in Atlantic City, New Jersey) is a former American football running back and return specialist in the National Football League. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 1 ...
and
Pat Moriarty accomplished the feat.
On October 12, 2014, Crowell ran for 77 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Crowell played in all 16 games and started four. He finished his rookie season with 607 rushing yards on 148 attempts and eight touchdowns plus nine receptions for 87 yards. Among rookies, Crowell ranks fifth in rushing yards, only one of nine rookies to break 500 yards, and one of five to break 600 yards. Crowell was ranked second in rushing touchdowns among rookies, just behind
Cincinnati Bengals' running back
Jeremy Hill
Jeremy Hill (born October 20, 1992) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU). After a promisin ...
.
2015 season
In the 2015 season, Crowell and Duke Johnson combined for a majority of the backfield carries for the Browns. In Week 4, Crowell ran for 63 yards on 12 carries against the
San Diego Chargers, including a 32-yard run.
Crowell recorded a career-high 62 receiving yards, including a career-long 53-yard catch. Crowell recorded 125 total yards and running back
Duke Johnson recorded 116 total yards as well, this marked the first time the Browns had two running backs each record more than 100 total yards in the same game since 2004 (
Lee Suggs
Lee Ernest Suggs, Jr. (born August 11, 1980) is a former American football coach and former player. He played college football as a running back at Virginia Tech and professionally for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins in the National Footb ...
with 119 yards and
William Green with 115).
In Week 5, Crowell scored his first touchdown reception of his career against the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
. In Week 14, Crowell ran for 145 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns against the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
.
Included, Crowell had a 50-yard run. Crowell finished the 2015 season with 706 rushing yards on 185 carries with four touchdowns, averaging 3.8 yards a carry. He played in all 16 games of the season and was the starting running back in nine of those games.
2016 season
In the 2016 season, Crowell led the Browns in rushing attempts, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns. In Week 2, versus the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
, Crowell recorded a career-long 85-yard touchdown run. The run was the second-longest rushing play in franchise history, behind
Bobby Mitchell's 90-yard run in 1959.
He finished the game with 133 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, averaging 7.4 yards per carry.
In Week 4, Crowell ran for 112 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown against the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
.
Crowell's 386 yards were the most by a Brown through the first four games of a season since
Jim Brown recorded 476 yards in 1965.
In Week 14, against the
Cincinnati Bengals, he had 113 rushing yards in the 23–10 loss. To close out the regular season, he had a season-high 152 rushing yards in a 27–24 loss to the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Crowell finished the 2016 season with a career-high 952 rushing yards and 319 receiving yards. His 4.8 yards per carry ranked fifteenth among NFL running backs in the 2016 season.
2017 season
On February 28, 2017, the Browns placed a second-round tender on Crowell, keeping him in Cleveland through 2017. Crowell got a majority of the backfield carries in 2017.
In Week 8, against the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
, Crowell had 118 scrimmage yards in the 33–16 loss. In Week 14 in an overtime loss to the
Green Bay Packers, he finished with a season-high 121 rushing yards. Overall, in the 2017 season, he finished with 853 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 28 receptions, and 182 receiving yards as the Browns recorded the second 0–16 season in NFL history.
New York Jets
On March 14, 2018, Crowell signed a three-year deal worth $12 million with the
New York Jets.
During ''Monday Night Football'' against the
Detroit Lions in Week 1, Crowell finished with 102 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, of which one was a 62-yard run, as the Jets won 48–17. Crowell returned to Cleveland for a ''
Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
'' contest in Week 3. He had 16 carries for 34 yards and two rushing touchdowns in the loss to the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
. After running for one of his touchdowns, he used the football to simulate cleaning himself after
defecation, then threw the ball into the stands, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. With
NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
carrying the game nationally and
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster.
The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for the network's Nation ...
on the call, the gesture drew comparisons to when
Randy Moss
Randy Gene Moss (born February 13, 1977) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee ...
pretended to moon
Green Bay Packers fans at
Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing ...
during an
NFC Divisional Playoff game in early 2005. Buck had called Moss' act "disgusting" on air, but was more reserved for Crowell's celebration. During Week 5 against the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
, Crowell finished with 219 rushing yards, including a 77-yard touchdown run as the Jets won 34–16. His 219 rushing yards set a new Jets franchise record. Crowell was awarded AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance. He was placed on injured reserve on December 14, 2018, with a toe injury he suffered against the
Buffalo Bills. He finished the 2018 season with 143 carries for 685 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns along with 21 receptions for 152 yards.
On March 14, 2019, Crowell was released by the Jets, after they signed
Le'Veon Bell
Le'Veon Andrew Bell Sr. ( ; born February 18, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted 48th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 20 ...
in free agency.
Oakland Raiders
On March 28, 2019, Crowell signed a one-year contract with the
Oakland Raiders. On April 29, he suffered a severed Achilles during a team workout. He was placed on injured reserve on May 3, 2019, ending his season and career.
NFL career statistics
Controversy
In July 2016, following the deaths of
Alton Sterling
On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The officers, who were attempting to control Sterling's arms, shot Sterling while Sterling al ...
and
Philando Castile, Crowell posted on his
Instagram a controversial violent image of a faceless person dressed in black who was slitting the throat of a captive law enforcement officer with a knife; he later had the photo deleted and apologized for his actions.
References
External links
*
Alabama State Hornets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowell, Isaiah
1993 births
Living people
Players of American football from Columbus, Georgia
African-American players of American football
American football running backs
George Washington Carver High School (Columbus, Georgia) alumni
Alabama State Hornets football players
Georgia Bulldogs football players
Cleveland Browns players
New York Jets players
Oakland Raiders players
21st-century African-American sportspeople