University of North Carolina Athletics
Crumpler Seeks Third All-ACC Honor
October 14, 2000 | Football
Oct. 14, 2000
By Jennifer Henderson,
Media Relations Student Assistant
Dedication. Drive. Discipline.
Two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference tight end Alge Crumpler lives by those words everyday. A 6-3, 255-pound senior from Wilmington, N.C., Crumpler knows that in order to be successful in life, he must follow those words on and off the football field.
One could say Crumpler was born to play football, after all, his father, Carlester, the leading rusher in East Carolina University history, and his older brother Carlester Jr. have both played in the NFL. The NFL, of course is where Crumpler plans on being next year.
Tight Ends Coach Terry Lewis thinks he will be there as well. "I have never known a guy at his age who was as astute about the game of football and his position as he is," says Lewis. "He really does the stuff off the field that is needed in order to be a successful football player on the field. With that combination, it is inevitable that he is going to be a prime-time big-time football player."
There is a lot more to Crumpler than just being named the number one tight end in the nation by National Football Scouting, Inc. There is more to Crumpler than being named a preseason first-team All America by The Sporting News. Crumpler is a thoughtful, caring individual who gives his time to a number of off-the-field projects.
Among his projects are speaking to elementary school kids on the importance of education, reading to elementary students and visiting sick children at the UNC Hospital.
"I don't shy away from those kind of projects because I like working with kids. Anytime I can help someone else, I want to do that because so many people have helped throughout my steps in life," he says.
One of the many people that has helped him throughout his life is his mother Gertha. Crumpler communicates with his mother more than he does with anyone else in his family.
"My mom is the optimist of the family," says Crumpler. "If I see something bad and see no way out, she will always see another angle, something good. She has influenced a lot of things that I've done in life and in football. She supports not only what I do, but everyone around me. She knows that I have a big support group in my teammates because they are my immediate family when I am in Chapel Hill."
Speaking of immediate family, Crumpler has some of his own in Chapel Hill. His younger brother, Bryan, is a Morehead Scholar and a member of the Marching Tar Heels. Although not as widely recognized because he is the only non-football player in the family, Bryan is a talented musician.
"He might not be as well known on campus, but he is a great musician and my entire family supports both of us," says Crumpler. "When my Mom and Dad come to visit we'll go the football game and if Bryan is playing in a concert, we'll go see that as well."
Crumpler not only receives a lot of support, he gives it as well. "He is a great guy and is there when you need him," fellow tight end Dauntae Finger says, "When you need to talk to somebody, he's the one to go to."
In five years at Carolina, Crumpler has seen a lot of changes. When he first arrived in Chapel Hill, Mack Brown was the coach. One of the main reasons he came to Carolina was because of what Carolina had to offer him. He wanted to go to a school where he could put himself on the map and Coach Brown created that feeling along with a family atmosphere. During Brown's final two years at Carolina, the team was ranked in the Top 10 and won two Gator Bowls. During those two years, Crumpler had 25 receptions, 282 yards and 4 touchdowns. In the 42-3 Gator Bowl victory over Virginia Tech, Carl Torbush's first game as head coach, Crumpler caught five passes for 77 yards.
Things looked as if they couldn't get any better. They didn't.
During spring practice, on March 26, 1998, Crumpler suffered a blow to the knee that caused him to take a medical red-shirt for the 1998 season.
Crumpler initially felt pain, but it eventually eased off. He thought he would go into the locker room, get treated and everything would be fine. In the training room he found out differently. Not only did Crumpler tear every major ligament and some cartilage in his knee, but he also damaged some nerve endings. The damaged nerves were the reason for the loss of pain he experienced. The loss of Crumpler was not just crippling to the tight end position, it was crippling to the leadership of the team.
With Crumpler out, the Tar Heels still managed to win seven games, including the 1999 Las Vegas Bowl. Crumpler could have looked at this injury as a chance to get away from the football field and enjoy things that he normally does not have time for. However, that is not the Crumpler way.
Crumpler frequented the weight rooms and added even more muscle. He assisted his teammates from the sidelines and was appointed as a "student assistant coach." He coached alongside Coach Lewis, attended every team meeting and explained plays to his new teammates.
"I was really shocked at his knowledge of the game," Coach Lewis said. "He was a pretty darn good assistant coach to me. His overall game has been enhanced by looking at the game through a new perspective."
This newfound role on the team even afforded him a spot on the traveling team, which is almost unheard of for an injured player.
"It was very hard sitting through the first three football games, knowing I couldn't get out there and do something to help the team," Crumpler said. "The hardest part was watching everyone else be normal, knowing I was not. You can always get through the pain, but once you've played in the ACC, it's really hard to sit back and watch. During that time, I really learned the game. I had to learn a little more about myself, I had to look deep inside and find out how I was going to deal with certain issues. I knew that the way I dealt with them would make me a stronger person."
What did Crumpler learn about himself? He learned that first of all, he was not a quitter and that he would fight through any situation and tackle it firsthand. And that he has done.
Since coming back from his injury, Crumpler has stepped back into a leadership role on the team and is one of this year's co-captains.
According to Coach Lewis, Crumpler is a fierce competitor that is very talented and interacts well with others. "It is because of his innate abilities that he has gotten to the point he has. I anticipated him being where he is, in fact, it has been a joy just being around watching him, but it is certainly not unexpected."
Crumpler is already on track to capturing all-conference honors for the third straight season. With the season not even half over, Crumpler already has eight receptions and 119 yards. In the Tar Heels most recent game against Georgia Tech, Crumpler hauled in a career-long 59-yard touchdown. His previous longest catch was 36 yards against TCU in 1997. He also had 5 receptions for 38 yards during the win over Marshall earlier this year. That is one reception short of his career high in a game. Crumpler needs 10 more catches to rank among Carolina's top 20 career receivers.
After five years at Carolina, Crumpler claims there isn't just one memory he will take with him. "Carolina is about a collection of memories. I think that if you only pull one memory out of it, then you didn't get out of it what you could have."
Crumpler will graduate in December. After that, he says he plans to stay around Chapel Hill, workout and prepare for a future in the NFL. Until then he and the rest of the team will plan on winning the last six regular season games, and hopefully a bowl game.
