Column: SEC football signees Courtney Crutchfield, Charlie Collins the stars Pine Bluff (Arkansas) needs

The struggling town has new star role models to look up to

Pine Bluff (Arkansas) head football coach Micheal Williams took over the Zebras program two years ago not only wanting to return the program to football prominence but to restore discipline. 

After winning a state championship in 2015, the Zebras had struggled since and many of the players from the economically distressed town had become undisciplined on and off the field. 

Williams, a Pine Bluff High alum, figured that one of the ways he’d inspire his players was to have other successful alumni speak to them. One such speaker was Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Willie Roaf, who starred for PBHS and played collegiately at Louisiana Tech. 

Even though Roaf was decorated and boasted a unique story with parents who were a longtime dentist and Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge - respectively, most of the players had never heard of the mammoth Roaf, who played in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Over the past 20 years, Roaf, MLB star Torri Hunter and Basil Shabazz, a highly decorated five-star prep athlete from the 1990s, have given Pine Bluff youth something to strive for. The town has been depressed for decades and because of that has been a breeding ground for crime. Sports has always been the town’s beacon of hope and many athletes have braved the mean streets to become good athletes and move on to success outside the Southeast Arkansas city – only to return to give back to next generations who are suffering from the same plight. All three of those athletes grew up in the city and have given back.

Two of a kind: Charleston Collins, Courtney Crutchfield have stuck together since childhood to become blue-chip recruits for the Arkansas Razorbacks

Pine Bluff receiver Courtney Crutchfield flips from Arkansas Razorbacks to Missouri Tigers

Look: Charlie Collins sticks with Arkansas Razorbacks commitment

Even though Hunter and Roaf’s names appear on the football stadium and fieldhouse, respectively, it appears it is time for another younger star to take hold of the torch and lead the city’s young people who are hoping to thrive as the new GoForward Pine Bluff initiative improves the economy, education and infrastructure and at the same time limiting violent crime that has kept the city on a series of ‘Most Dangerous Cities in America’ lists.

Courtney Crutchfield, a four-star wide receiver who signed with the University of Missouri on Wednesday, and University Arkansas four-star defensive end signee Charlie Collins, Crtuchfield's cousin, are two new prominent athletic figures the city of Pine Bluff needs to carry the torch that has been carried so well by Hunter, Roaf, Shabazz and many others.

“I’m ready [to be a role model],” Crutchfield said. “[Hunter and Roaf] had a time of giving and have made a mark on Pine Bluff, for sure. Shout-out to them, but I feel like I am ready to take that role.”

Crutchfield played four sports at PBHS and helped lead the Zebras basketball team to the Class 5A state championship last fall. The son of a schoolteacher, he appreciates kids and values education. As someone who has seen two family members close to him incarcerated, he knows the pitfalls of growing up in a town with a reputation for drugs and gangs. He also knows that the negative reputation can be overblown statewide. He plans to be an ambassador for the city throughout his career just as Hunter, Roaf, NFL veteran Monte Coleman and others have been before him.

“I think I am a good example for the younger kids and relate well to them growing up in this environment,” Crutchfield said. “Good and bad happens everywhere, but I do want to set the standard for all the good that is happening in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.”

Cousins Courtney Crutchfield (left) and Charlie Collins (Photo by Nate Olson)

Collins fed children and handed out toys to some of the city’s less fortunate at his Signing Day celebration Wednesday night. Collins grew up in Pine Bluff with Crutchfield but spent the past two seasons playing football at Mills University Studies 45 minutes up the road in Little Rock. Still, Pine Bluff is the place he calls home.

“It’s all love and respect to Torii Hunter and Basil Shabazz and all of those guys, but there are a new wave of guys who are coming in. It is a new generation, and they need someone different they can look up to and relate to that they see on an every-day basis. It isn’t hard to find me. I am at Wal-Mart and the gas stations. Any time they want to sit down and talk, we can do that. I just want to share the love and positivity.”

Last week the cousins handed out gifts at a White Hall nursing home. Many of the residents enjoyed talking football with the pair.

“Me and Crutchfield definitely noticed our impact on the community as of late, so we have been trying to do a lot of good things to push a good image to get our names out there and build connections with different people,” Collins said. “I have been surprised by how many people who actually know who we are.”

Courtney Crutchfield (left) and Charlie Collins (right) serve food to kids Wednesday night at Collins' Signing Day celebration. (Photo by Nate Olson)

I have a different perspective from most. I worked at the Pine Bluff Commercial from 2001 to 2006. It was easy to see Pine Bluff was much more than the crime stats. The city boasts some great people. My time also allowed me to get close with Hunter and others. I interviewed Roaf’s mother, Andre Layton-Roaf. I’d count her as one of the smartest people I’ve interviewed and a quality person.

The reason kids from the next generation have been able to achieve great things such as Crutchfield, Collins and Pine Bluff Missouri commit Austyn Dendy, who is also very community-minded, is there has always been a support network in place. The youth sports programs and high school programs have always been solid. Pine Bluff kids can play sports and feel safe and have mentors who will guide them on the right path to avoid the temptations the city offers.

Now, Crutchfield and Collins go from the mentees to the mentors. As they make big plays on Saturdays and maybe Sundays, many eyes will be on them. They will inspire the youth program kids to work hard so that someday they, too, will have a way out. They will also be ambassadors for their city in Columbia, Mo., and Fayetteville, respectively. Through them, they will know what I discovered many years ago – that Pine Bluff is a positive place. 

“Sometime you just have to check it out for yourself,” Crutchfield said. “When I go to college, I am going to make sure I leave a great mark of where I come from – Pine Bluff, Arkansas. And I will definitely give back to the city.” 

--Nate Olson I nate@scorebooklive.com I @ndosports