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The Sideline Report with Jocques Crawford

Blog: The Sideline Report

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[Kream Keegan][1] has been posted, so be sure to get your picks in this week before 11 a.m. Saturday.Let's go ahead and get right to the latest Sideline Report, this one with running back/kick returner Jocques Crawford.![][2]

The Sideline Report with Jocques Crawford

Jesse Newell: It says in the media guide that you like walks on the beach. Do you really like walks on the beach?![][3][Jocques Crawford:][4] (laughs) I meant it as kind of a joke. Me and my teammates used it in high school as a joke for Senior Day. I just kind of used it whenever I can because I think it's hilarious, being that I'm not really going to the beach a lot. I'm sure I would enjoy it if I did go on the beach, though. (laughs)JN: Does that help you with the ladies, saying that you like walks on the beach?JC: Yeah, I think it does help with the ladies. They might like walks on the beach. I'm sure any lady likes walks on the beach. It's kind of romantic, so ladies like that type of thing nowadays.JN: So you're just going to keep that line in your back pocket until the day comes, right?JC: Yeah, I'm going to keep it in my back pocket until I get a little older and I can move to Florida or Cali where I can actually take a young lady on a walk on the beach.JN: So riding horses is in the media guide, too. Do you really do that?JC: (laughs) No, I'm scared of horses, actually. (laughs) I just thought that sounded good, too. I'll throw it in the media guide, have a little fun with it.JN: So you are the perfect man in the media guide? That's pretty much what you're saying then?JC: Yeah, I try to be the perfect man in the media guide, try to get people to like me. I'm just trying to show them that I have a pleasing personality and I have sense of humor.JN: How many texts do you do a day?JC: Text messages? I don't know. My phone kind of freezes up a lot because I text a lot. People back home - just random people - I get text messages all the time. I've actually got Facebook connected to my cell phone, too, so I do get a lot of text messages from that. Probably around 300 maybe. I text a lot. My phone bill actually gets shipped in a box.![][5]JN: Really?JC: Yeah, my mom gets mad about it because FedEx has to drop it off. JN: What was her first reaction when she got a box for a phone bill?JC: She was just glad that I had free text messaging and didn't go over my text messages. I think it's hilarious that I get a phone bill shipped to me in a box, because it's nothing but text messages.JN: Are you the most competitive person you know?JC: I don't know. Frankly, I'm a very competitive person. I'll compete with anybody, anywhere, any sport, anything. From Checkers to [Chinese Checkers][6] to Spades to on the field : sports I haven't even played, I'm a very competitive person. I just like to do that. I think it's fun to compete. I'll take it seriously. If I lose, I won't be mad about it as long as I did my best, but I just love to compete in anything I do.JN: You say you won't get mad about things, but do you hate losing then?JC: I hate losing, but at the end of the day, if you put your all into it, if you don't have those questions 'I could've, should've, would've,' then I don't think you should be mad that you lost. You played your all. You gave your 100 percent.JN: Your father played football for Memphis. Who were you cheering for in the national championship game?JC: I guess whoever was leading at that time, because I was at junior college watching it. I was in a win-win situation, so it really didn't matter to me. I guess if Memphis would have won, Kansas fans may not have liked me here, or when I go home (to Memphis), people see the Kansas stickers and flags on my trunk, and they don't really like that. I was in a win-win situation. I was just glad my school in my hometown made it to the national championship.JN: What's the reaction when they see the Jayhawk stickers back home?JC: It's not appropriate to say right now. I do get some guys when I'm downtown, drunk guys that are drinking that say the dumbest stuff. They rip my flags off, so I just have to drive off. It's tough to be a Jayhawk in Memphis. It's kind of hard, especially when I hang out where the Memphis basketball players hang out. They don't really like that.JN: Who was your favorite running back?JC: I liked Barry Sanders.JN: Why's that?JC: Because he's a pretty shifty running back. He made a lot of guys miss. Despite his size, he went out there and did the best that he could. He's like one of the legends right now. JN: Were you trying to be Barry Sanders in your living room while watching him? Were you trying to emulate him growing up?![][7]JC: Originally, my last name was Sanders (Jocques' last name was changed to his father's last name, Crawford, in seventh grade), so I used to always say I was Barry Sanders when we played pickup games and things like that when I was a younger kid. When I got on the field, I just tried to do things - shake moves and things like that. I remember my grandmother bought me a Barry Sanders jersey for Christmas. I wore it every day. I seriously wore it every day. I just had fun with it.JN: How old were you then?JC: I was probably around 8, 9 years old. Maybe younger. I can't remember, I just remember that she bought me that Lions jersey. [1]: http://www2.kusports.com/keegan/2008/week10/ [2]: http://commercialappeal-web.com/recruiting/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/crawford-signs.jpg" width="350" height="250 [3]: http://www.jollybeachvacations.com/weddings/images/beach-walk.jpg" width="140" height="150 [4]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWbMGSTZ8EU [5]: http://www.handcellphone.com/free-cell-phone/pictures/fed-ex_shipping_man.gif" width="130" height="150 [6]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvGRJ2e041U&feature=related [7]: http://store.thegoaliesden.com/catalog/sandersrepthen2.jpg" width="130" height="150

Comments

d_prowess (anonymous) says...

So I can't help but wonder if Crawford is going to be one of those guys with a lot of potential and hype coming in, but it won't really show through until next year. You know his Juco performance wasn't some crazy fluke; it might just take him a year to get used to this game and then next year he will be the guy that gets his 2,000 yards. Or at least that is what I am hoping for...

October 30, 2008 at 2:41 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

imnotpaulpierce (anonymous) says...

Crawford must have been joking when he said he'd rush for 2000 yards as well.

October 30, 2008 at 3:08 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

I think he'll come around next year. The handoffs just look a bit slow, and both he and Quigley seem to be second guessing themselves as they look for a hole. Sharp is doing well because he doesn't look for holes, he makes them.

October 30, 2008 at 5:19 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

stupidmichael (anonymous) says...

I liked reading this sideline report.

October 30, 2008 at 5:38 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

DSommersby (anonymous) says...

Jocques will get it going at running back. I learned a lot and gained a lot of respect for him when he was covering kickoffs against CU. He had the kickoff tackle that helped set up Laptad's safety that game and he also had a TD saving tackle when CU's return man busted off about a 60 plus yard return. It showed me Jocques was team first and willing to pitch in and help where the team needed him then. Sharp did the same thing earlier in the season covering kicks. You know these guys all went to be fed the rock early and often. Jocques will get his chance. He has shown some flashes. I think he and Sharp can develop into a good one-two punch. I'd like to see all our backs run with their pad level much lower. B-Mac talked about this in a LJ World article earlier in the year. If they study their technique and work their repetitions in practice it will pay off on Saturdays. Jocques just needs to stay focused, run hard and make each play count. You can see him getting better, improving, and getting closer. Rock Chalk Jocques! Keep battling for the Hawks!

October 31, 2008 at 1:12 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Danimal (anonymous) says...

Hey everybody, Crawford was given more than a fair shot and guess what? He blew it. Saying the hand-offs are slow or that the O-line isn't good enough is ridiculous, B-Mac, Sharp and Cornish all came into the same system and stacked up great yardage. If anyone deserves more carries it's Quigley. It's too bad Mangino doesn't like his pads high running style, but guess what, the guy gets yards. Crawford on the other hand is arguably a wasted scholarship thus far. He has been the greatest disappointment in KU football since Brandon Duncan a couple years ago.

October 31, 2008 at 3:17 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

rohdek (Kyle Rohde) says...

I don't know why everyone made such a big deal about the 2,000 yards thing - he said that was his goal, not what he expected to do. My goal is to own a Ferrari but I'm a helluva long way away from that. Does that mean I'm cocky or something? No.

October 31, 2008 at 8:57 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayViking (anonymous) says...

Horse video could at least use a warning, especially for users not familiar with goregasm!

October 31, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

d_prowess (anonymous) says...

Um, shouldn't there have been a NEW Sideline Report yesterday? This is a big week for the football team Jesse and we expect a column. Don't lose your focus now!

November 7, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. ( | suggest removal )