No. 1: Quavaris Crouch fulfills promise in rise to top ranking

Longtime Charlotte Observer high school sportswriter Langston Wertz wrote it off as youthful bravado upon first meeting Quavaris Crouch during the 2015 football season.

Crouch was just a freshman at Harding University, which hadn't had a winning season in football since 2007 or celebrated a state championship in 62 years.

“He told me in the ninth grade he was going to make Harding a state champion,'' Wertz recalled recently. “It was the middle of the season and they were like 1-5 or something like that. So here is this freshman, and their team is terrible, and he's telling me they are going to win a state championship. I laughed, of course.''

Led by Crouch, a gifted running back and linebacker, the Rams fulfilled that prophecy last December by defeating Scotland, 30-22, for the state 4-A championship in Winston-Salem. The 6-foot-2 1/2, 238-pounder ran 23 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns despite a badly bruised shin to help Harding complete a 14-1 season.

Crouch finished the season with 3,283 yards and 33 touchdowns rushing, and he contributed 48 tackles and 14 quarterback sacks on the other side of the ball. He also ended the year as one of the nation's most heavily recruited college prospects, earning scholarship offers from traditional powers such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Southern California.

For leading Harding to state prominence and talents that have made him a coveted recruit, Crouch has earned the No. 1 spot in The Fayetteville Observer's annual ranking of North Carolina's Top 50 college prospects.

Crouch follows in the footsteps of former No. 1s such as NFL All-Pro defensive end Julius Peppers (1997), national championship quarterback Chris Leak (2002), former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Todd Gurley (2011), potential 2019 first-round NFL draft pick Dexter Lawrence (2015) and many others who have topped the rankings that were first produced in 1994.

Mike Farrell is the national recruiting director for Rivals.com and is known around the country as the “Godfather of Recruiting'' because of his longevity in the business. Farrell has heard plenty of comparisons when it comes to Crouch, but personally likens him to a former Florida State standout.

“He reminds me of a bigger Ernie Sims,'' Farrell said. “Sims was our No. 1 (national) prospect in 2003, went to Florida State and became a first-round NFL pick as a linebacker. He played 10 years in the NFL. He (Crouch) reminds me of Ernie because he could play running back or linebacker, but he's bigger. Ernie was 6-foot tall and this kid is 6-2.

“I've heard some people compare him to (Denver Broncos linebacker) Von Miller, but Crouch is not a pure, freak pass rusher. He's more of an Ernie Sims-type to me. That's an old-school reference, but that's who he's like.''

Wertz has also seen a lot of great players in the Charlotte area and beyond during a 30-plus year career at the newspaper. He calls Crouch the best he's seen at running back.

“I haven't seen one like that,'' Wertz said. “I've seen the Elijah Hoods and all the guys in North Carolina like Todd Gurley or the kid last year at Scotland (Zamir White), who was a freak. But before Crouch, I thought the best I had seen was a guy named Brian Knuckles, who played at West Charlotte. He went to Nebraska, but didn't pan out. He was 6-1, 210 and ran a 4.3 40. He was unbelievable.

“But this kid is way beyond anything I've seen. He has incredible size, vision, speed and heart. If you drew up a player in a video game, it would be Quavaris Crouch.''

Crouch has yet to make a decision on where he'll play college football, but his options are endless. He hopes to announce a decision sometime in October. Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, N.C. State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Stanford were all still in the running in late July.

Staff writer Sammy Batten can be reached at sbatten@fayobserver.com or 486-3534.

Height/weight: 6-2, 228

Hometown: Charlotte

High school: Harding University

In the national rankings

247Sports.com: 4 stars, No. 2 athlete nationally, No. 37 prospect overall nationally

Rivals.com: 5 stars, No. 1 athlete nationally, No. 5 prospect overall nationally

Notes & numbers: The 2017 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, a first-team all-state pick by The Associated Press, and the Charlotte Observer's Area Player of the Year. … Already selected to participate in the U.S. Army All-American Game in January. … Made his freshman debut at Harding in 2015, rushing 91 times for 578 yards and four touchdowns. … Piled up 1,224 yards and 17 touchdowns on 168 carries as a sophomore. … Ran for 3,142 yards and 31 touchdowns and also made 48 tackles and 14 sacks during Harding's run to the state 4-A championship last season.

Recruiting trail: Crouch has been hard to read because he's never publicly stated any favorites or narrowed the field of suitors. His offers come from an impressive list that includes Alabama, Florida, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Southern Cal. About the only clue he's given about serious interests have been unofficial visits to Clemson, Florida State, Michigan, N.C. State, South Carolina and Tennessee. Don't expect a decision any time soon from Crouch. This one might play out right up to the second signing day in February.

Sammy's take: Some call him the next Leonard Fournette, former LSU running back. And Crouch is a powerful bull running between the tackles. But his greater potential may be at linebacker, where he's an absolute beast. Crouch plays fast, confident and with a nasty attitude that makes him an instant impact player at the FBS level.