University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Tae Crowder
October 01, 2019 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Tae Crowder's days as a Georgia running back are way back in the rearview mirror. The redshirt senior linebacker from Pine Mountain, Ga., who had nine tackles against Notre Dame, hasn't forgotten where his Bulldog career began, however.
During a wide-ranging Quick Chat before practice Monday, the 6-foot-3 and 235-pound Crowder talked about the running back room when he was a freshman, playing football, basketball and baseball in high school and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: It probably feels like you've been here a long time, and you have been here a long time, but when you know it's your final season at Georgia, are you taking time to appreciate savor the moments?
Crowder: Yeah, I definitely think about things and appreciate the little things, thanking God for being here and blessing me.
Frierson: How do you feel like you've played this season?
Crowder: I've done pretty good, just trying to do what I can do to help the team.
Frierson: Well, nine tackles against Notre Dame, that's a pretty good day at the office. Did you hear from Roquan (Smith) about that one, because that's a Roquan kind of game?
Crowder: [Laughs.] Yeah, I did, definitely. He was like, "Dang, I haven't heard from you since you got your nine tackles." He was just messing with me.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Crowder: I think I can have Gushers every day. That's one thing.
Frierson: I don't think I know what Gushers are.
Crowder: You don't know what a Gusher is? It's a candy. Want me to show you?
[Crowder then pulls out his phone and does a search, showing me a box of Fruit Gushers fruit-flavored snacks.]
You never saw those before?
Frierson: I don't have kids so I don't spend much time in the candy or fruit snack aisle.
Crowder: It's a fruit candy with a gel liquid inside of it. When you bite into it the gel shoots out.
Frierson: Do you have loads of those at home?
Crowder: Yeah, I do. I'm a big candy guy. [Laughs.]
Frierson: Speaking of savoring moments, do you know that at some point when you stop playing football, and you stop working out for hours every day, that you're probably not going to be able to eat a lot of that kind of stuff?
Crowder: Oh, yeah, I'll definitely slow down. Knowing that I can work it off and stuff like that, I'll definitely eat it right now.
Frierson: At the end of a hard practice, is there a food you find yourself craving?
Crowder: At the end of a long practice I just want a great meal, a good meal, nice, solid, like a home-cooked meal — food for the soul.
Frierson: When you go home is there a meal waiting for you? Is there something you always like to have?
Crowder: If I tell them what day I'm coming, they'll try to prepare something for me. It'll be collards, sweet cornbread, some kind of meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, stuff like that.
Frierson: When we talked the last time, one of the things you talked about was learning how to practice here. When did it click for you, as far as bringing to practice what you needed to bring?
Crowder: Just like last year, once I started playing and making plays and stuff like that, I got used to it, like I can do this. Practice started to get fun because once you know what you're working for, you'll definitely want to go out and do it every day.
Frierson: If you could play any other sport for Georgia, what would it be?
Crowder: As much as I love baseball, I definitely would play basketball, just because I always grew up watching all three sports but definitely watching Georgia football and basketball.
I don't know if you remember Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, he's from not too far from where I'm from and I definitely grew up watching him and saw him come to Georgi and play. And I've got a few buddies on the basketball team, too. It would be a fun experience, I feel like, to play for Georgia.
Frierson: You were a good high-school player, too; I saw where you averaged about 15 points and six rebounds a game one season.
Crowder: I was a pretty good player. I was more of a LeBron type.
Frierson: Ok, that's a big name.
Crowder: Yeah, it is. [Laughs.] He's just a playmaker, you know, getting the crowd going and making plays on offense and defense. I'm not much like him size-wise because obviously he's pretty big.
Frierson: Do you remember your first dunk?
Crowder: My first dunk was in seventh grade P.E. class.
Frierson: Wow. I'm a guy that barely ever touched the net and you're dunking in seventh grade.
Crowder: I always just went to the court with the guys and obviously as you get older it gets more competitive. You want to be that first one that gets the dunk in, so I definitely worked at it. Seventh grade was my first dunk and ninth grade was my first dunk in a game.
Frierson: Did that feel as good as I've always imagined it would?
Crowder: Yeah, it felt pretty good. [Laughs.] And we called a timeout after it so it got really crazy in the gym. It was pretty fun.
Frierson: When you do something like that, are you thinking that basketball is where your future lies or did you already think football was going to be the sport for you? Or maybe it was baseball.
Crowder: At the time, all three sports were my main interests, but I was growing more into basketball and football. I didn't really have a difference between those two at that time.
Playing football started growing on me more in my junior year, once I started to get offers and stuff like that.
Frierson: What was it like in that running back room when you a freshman?
Crowder: It was kind of tough when I first got here because I was like, dang, Nick Chubb, just seeing him; seeing Keith Marshall, Sony Michel — it was just surreal being in the same room with them. And B-Douglas (Brendan Douglas).
It was crazy just being in the room with them. I remember every day of that time when I first got here with them, every moment just felt so surreal. I'd been watching them (on TV) and I got the offer kind of late, so I didn't know if I was ever going to get the chance to play at Georgia at that time.
Frierson: Chubb had a huge day on Sunday and Sony's got a big Super Bowl ring on his finger, so what's it like seeing them playing in the NFL?
Crowder: You can't help but just be proud, knowing it's a dream come true for them. You can't do anything but be happy for them and it's motivation, too, just from being there with them and seeing the work they put in to get there.
Frierson: The two touchdowns you scored as a running back in the 2016 G-Day game, do those feel like a lifetime ago or like they maybe happened to a different person?
Crowder: Oh, yeah, it does. [Laughs.] From time to time I go back and look at it just to get a good laugh. It's pretty crazy.
And sometimes we'll look at an old play from Coach Schu (Glenn Schumann) and the linebacker room he had before I got in there, and even before Schu was here, and we'll see me on film at running back. [Laughs.] It's pretty funny — I look like a whole other player.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
