Making His Dream Come True

Matt Crowder dreamed about the moment. Now the dream has arrived.

Crowder, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior tight end/defensive end for the Sullivan Central Cougars, sent in his letter of intent to play football for Cornell University on Wednesday. He will have a signing ceremony at the school on Friday afternoon.

After drawing interest from Princeton, Penn, Dartmouth, Yale, Columbia and Davidson, among others, Crowder decided to become part of the Big Red. He will join his older brother, Michael, in Ivy League play – the elder Crowder is a sophomore center for Princeton.

According to Crowder, the push to play college football began when he was a child. Motivated by his father, Mike, who also played the game in college, Crowder worked and sacrificed throughout his childhood, adolescence and teenage years. His hope: to participate on the collegiate level in a sport whose traditions had been passed down from father to son.

“[My Dad] pretty much raised me to be an athlete,” Crowder said. “I just choose what sport I wanted to go into, and football was my main interest.”

Crowder caught 10 passes for 127 yards last season for a Central program that finished 2-8 (2-5 Big Nine Conference). The Cougars posted a 3-27 record during Crowder’s last three years with the program. Crowder said Central’s poor record and lack of success on the field did not deter his belief that he could one day reach his goal.

“You can never give up. Even when you’re down, and you’re in the bottom of what you think you cannot come out of, you just can’t give up,” Crowder said. “That’s why you have to have a dream and a goal. You’re set to do that one thing, and you can’t let anything else get in the way of that.”

Crowder’s devotion to football and his collegiate dream left a strong impression on Central football coach Scott Nelson. Nelson said Crowder’s signing was a big move for the senior Cougar, as well as the future of Central’s program.

“He’s a sharp kid and he’s had many great accomplishments and has positioned himself to have the opportunity to do a lot more,” Nelson said. “We’re all very proud.”

Crowder isn’t the only regional player from the Big Nine Conference moving on to play in the college ranks.

Preston Frye, a 6-foot-6, 295-pound guard/nose tackle for the Sullivan East Patriots, signed with Austin Peay, an NCAA Division I-AA program located in Clarksville, Tenn.

“It’s great to have a guy get a scholarship,” said John Dyer, Sullivan East athletic director. “It’s a great thing for our program.”

Patriots senior Katie Harris also signed a letter of intent to play volleyball for Union (Jackson, Tenn.) on Wednesday.

Sullivan East will hold a signing ceremony for its athletes Monday afternoon at the school library.

The Tusculum College football program, which last season made the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in school history, announced late Wednesday that Tennessee High senior linebacker Matt McClellan is among its 41 commitments for the freshman class of 2009.

Tennessee High football coach Greg Stubbs said this week that Jayson Arnold is still pursuing his college options. Arnold has drawn serious interest from the University of Charleston.

Carson-Newman College signed 31 players, including J.I. Burton running back Jaycob Coleman and a pair of Science Hill High seniors, defensive back Isaac Kinley and wide receiver Larry Smith. Coleman was named to the Herald Courier’s All-Southwest Virginia team after the 2008 season.

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