University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: AC is Ready to Go
April 12, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Looking back now, almost eight months after suffering the knee injury that sidelined him for all but two games last season, Aaron Crawford acknowledges that the injury could've been worse.
But at the time, that meant little to the North Carolina defensive tackle.
It was during an August practice when Crawford, trying to shed a block as he ran across the Kenan Stadium field, said his left foot got caught in some of the sand that was being used to level the surface. His momentum carried him forward. But his foot stayed planted. And before long, he was being carted off the field.
As he later learned, he likely would've torn every ligament in his knee if his foot stayed in the ground about a second longer. But the injury still derailed a promising season for the 6-foot-1, 310-pound nose tackle, who'd earned praise from his coaches all offseason and seemed like a candidate to be selected in this month's NFL Draft.
"Knowing that I had an opportunity to see some of my dreams come to fruition at the end of (the season) and I wasn't able to do that, that was definitely hard," Crawford said. "Along with that, I felt like it was one of the best offseasons I've had.
"It was hard knowing that I put in all this work and I had nothing to show for it. It was definitely the most testing time of my career."
If Crawford's injury had been worse, he'd probably still be rehabbing this spring. Instead, when the Tar Heels take the field for Saturday's spring game at Kenan Stadium, the fifth-year senior will be among the most-watched participants.
Playing in the intrasquad scrimmage marks another step in Crawford's comeback. He said he's eagerly looking forward to being in front of a crowd again. And he's not the only one.
"My mom is bringing a whole army …" he said. "This is the first time (in a while) that I actually will be able to step out on the field and really say that I'm ready to go. I'm really looking forward to that. It's really refreshing knowing that I can say that I'm healthy, 100 percent."
For surely there were times last fall when he tried convincing himself that he was just that.
After being sidelined for UNC's first four games, Crawford returned for the home game against Virginia Tech on Oct. 13. Unbeknownst to him, a Baker's cyst had developed behind his injured knee. And during the few snaps he played against the Hokies, the cyst burst, causing him to miss the team's next game at Syracuse.
Entering the Virginia game the following week, Crawford said he felt the best he had since sustaining his injury. He made one tackle against the Cavaliers. But in pursuit of another, he landed directly on his knee and re-aggravated his injury.
"At that point, it was kind of curtain call for the season," he said. "There were a couple of games left, and that was just about it."
Crawford sat out the final four games. Ultimately, he played just seven total snaps all season.
As he rehabbed, Crawford said he worked alongside Brandon Fritts, who was then at a similar stage in his recovery from a torn ACL. They regularly lifted weights together. They went through conditioning together. And that, Crawford said, made him work harder.
"The way that he was just positive throughout his whole thing … was definitely a big influence on me," Crawford said.
By the time the team's "Fourth Quarter" conditioning program began in February, Crawford – who earned bachelor's degrees in economics and management and society in December – was starting to feel like his old self. Up until then, he'd been limited in some exercises and had to push through others. But at that point, he said he "felt like (he) could start taking off."
That's exactly what he did during one of Carolina's first spring practices, when he found himself chasing down a running back.
"All of a sudden I look up and I'm 30 yards downfield," he said. "That's when I realized I was back to where I needed to be."
Plays such as that are what earned him rave reviews last spring. During one team meeting, coaches even showed cut-ups of him to highlight his effort and intensity. So far this spring, Crawford, who is tied with Charlie Heck for first on the team in returning career starts (22), has displayed those same traits.
"AC is one of our big staples on the team," Patrice Rene said. "He brings energy. He sets the tone every time he steps out there on the field with the defense. I know as soon as AC is out there, he's ready to go, he's going to give his best and I've got to go out there and do the same thing, give my best. That accountability that he brings to us on the defensive side is very important."
Jay Bateman heard similar things upon arriving in Chapel Hill in December.
In talking with administrators and coaches from the previous staff who were retained, the Tar Heels' first-year safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator said everyone spoke highly of Crawford. It didn't take Bateman long to see why. During his initial meetings with the defense, he noticed how the players look up to Crawford and follow his lead.
That, Bateman said, was also evident to incoming freshman Don Chapman, a San Diego native who chose UNC over multiple Pac-12 programs after his official visit.
"He came here, he said, because of how strong he felt the brotherhood amongst our players was," Bateman said. "He came here to a program that had just had a head-coaching change and gone 2-9 and expected it to be very fractured, and it wasn't. And I think Aaron Crawford is a big piece of that.
"He's a good leader. He's a good player. We need him to play 12 – hopefully 13 – games."
In the multiple defense that Bateman employs, Crawford will play the 0-technique, meaning he'll be lined up directly over the center and serve as the anchor of the defense. Crawford said that's where he's most comfortable. And it's from that position that he'll look to pick up where he left off in his return from injury.
"I felt like I was definitely starting to break the ice on what I was capable of doing (in August)," he said. "I was really disappointed that I wasn't able to show that because I felt like the progression that I'd made from the end of the 2017 season up until that point was astronomical.
"But now, it's a new year and I'm able to go out there and do it again."
