By LARRY VAUGHT
He’s viewed as a receiver who could be a God-send for Kentucky’s offense next season even though he has just 17 catches for 195 yards and seven scores this season.
However, in 2020 there’s really no way to judge just what this season has been like for Frederick Douglass receiver Dekel Crowdus, an early UK verbal commit.
“Obviously he doesn’t have a lot of big stats but none of our guys do,” said Frederick Douglass coach Nathan McPeek. “Against North Hardin we had six turnovers that took a lot offensive plays away from us. The Ballard game we got up four scores easily and the other games were blowouts in the first half. We’ve also not had a lot of games.”
Frederick Douglas had not played since beating Montgomery County 29-0 on Oct. 23 when it beat Great Crossing 62-21 in the playoffs last week. The three games before Montgomery Cunty it won by a combined 153-27 margin after opening the season with a 19-17 loss to North Hardin. The Broncos had a 28-day break between games when they beat Great Crossing Friday in the Class 5A playoffs. They play Scott County this week.
Crowdus spent his junior season at IMG Academy in Florida. Since returning to Frederick Douglass, McPeek has seen dramatic improvements in the way he practices daily.
“His approach to the game has been a lot better,” McPeek said. “Overall his route running has gotten better. His communication level has improved. We are still working on his communication but he’s a young senior and that’s not easy for him yet.
“When he came back from IMG, he had learned some good stuff there. He’s been working really hard on reading coverages and understanding leverage. He’s always been very fast and athletic. We want him to have the ball in space and let him do his thing. He knows when he goes to college the talent level will be a lot better, especially in the SEC, and he will have to understand leverage, angles, coverages a lot better.”
There has been some concern over whether Crowdus could change his mind about his commitment to UK considering Kentucky’s lack of a consistent passing game this season. Crowdus has not indicated he’s going to de-commit.
“He has not told me he is not still committed to Kentucky,” McPeek said. “He has not come to me about anything like that.”
Crowdus’ teammate, offensive lineman Jäger Burton, is also verbally committed to UK. Burton is the top-rated recruit in Kentucky. McPeek says the two are “great friends” who made their own recruiting decisions.
McPeek thinks Crowdus, who had three catches for 56 yards and two scores last week, is going to be “fine” when he gets to college. He will not be an early enrollee in January.
“He has got to get his body to where he can compete in college. I think he can play some as a true freshman but he has to work at it,” McPeek said. “Skill-wise and athletic-wise he is there. I think he’s going to be fine. He’s always been a great athlete. I don’t think he’s got any faster but he’s got amazing speed (4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash). He’s got to get bigger but he knows that.
“I taught him in eighth grade at Bryan Station Middle School. I love him and believe in him. He’s going to be a big contributor in our playoff run.”