Now Is Crawford's Time to Show What He Can Do
Buried in the numbers at Oklahoma, Jaquayln Crawford was looking for someplace new 14 months ago, landing at Arkansas.
Due to transfer rules, he had to sit all of last season. For a highly-touted recruit from Rockdale, Texas, he couldn't get on the field with all of the talent the Sooners had to catch passes.
He used last season's work on the Razorbacks' scout team to get some things improved in his game.
"It wasn't that big of a deal," Crawford said Monday evening. "I just used it as an opportunity to better my game and work on the things I need to improve on."
Preseason All-American safety Jalen Catalon has noticed some of that improvement.
"He's shown explosiveness and what he can do at the slot," Catalon said. "And not just the slot, but you can put him in the backfield in packages with him. He creates so much dynamic to this offense, and he has been a true weapon. He's really showcasing what he can do."
Maybe Crawford could be the answer to the fall camp question of finding another receiver that can be a threat along with Treylon Burks (who missed Monday's practice and we really don't have a reason for that).
"We have people like Burks, but for him to be in there too and understand we can go with a two-threat of him and Burks, it could be unstoppable for sure. Every day he comes in and is consistent and helps the offense and it shows."
Crawford has watched Burks, has seen the talent and knows he was a second-team All-American choice by Pro Football Focus.
"If he's second team, I'd like to see who's first," Crawford said with a smile.
Everyone, including Crawford, said the year off he took wasn't wasted.
"I just tried to use last season on scout team and work on route-running, yards after catch and things like that," he said. "Just stuff that will work on Saturdays, that will happen in games. Just trying to look at every practice like a game."
He also got to develop that against the best defenders the Hogs put on the field.
"It made me a better player than just going through the motions," Crawford said. "I tried to use every day to my advantage and work on something."
