'The power of a hurricane': QB Ethan Crawford is Hillcrest football's driving force

The eye of the hurricane is the most peaceful part of the storm, but all around is chaos.

Hillcrest quarterback Ethan Crawford is both the calm eye and destructive majority of a hurricane. His impact reaches far and wide over the football program.

The Southern Miss three-star quarterback commit is No. 3 on the Tuscaloosa News' Fab 5, a collection of the top Tuscaloosa area college football prospects as ranked by the newspaper.

Crawford entered the world during a historic moment in Alabama. He was born to parents Lakesha and Ethan Crawford during a power outage in Demopolis, an hour south of Tuscaloosa.

Hurricane Ivan was making its way through Alabama to become the most costly hurricane in state history. Demopolis is nearly 200 miles from Ivan's landfall near Gulf Shores but still was affected.

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The Crawfords planned to give their future three-star quarterback the same name as his father, Ethan Dwyane Crawford. Instead his middle name is Ivan.

"I said, ‘We're going to name him after the hurricane,' " Ethan Dwyane Crawford said. "Lakesha) was like, ‘All right, cool.’ My mom was like, ‘Are you freaking crazy, man? Why would you do that?’ I’m looking like, ‘Mom, it’s kind of cool, though.’ She’s looking like, ‘Name your baby after a catastrophe?’"

There's an obvious similarity between the three-year starter and a hurricane — power.

Crawford is twice an ASWA all-state player, second team as a junior when he passed for 2,297 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed for 885 yards and 17 touchdowns.

He is the No. 72 quarterback in the nation, according the 247Sports Composite.

"That’s the thing that just jumps right at me, the power of a hurricane," Hillcrest coach Jamie Mitchell said. "It’s both in his run game and in his arm strength. He is a powerful, powerful runner and a powerful thrower. He checks the boxes on that. A hurricane is about as powerful of a storm as you can get. He is a strong, strong dude."

Crawford started every game for Hillcrest during the past three seasons except the first game of his freshman year, when he started the second half.

The Patriots are 23-13 in Crawford's starts and reached the AHSAA 6A semifinals in 2021. His experience, impressive history and dual-threat skillset make Crawford a prime candidate for Mr. Football.

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At, 6-foot — he never reached the 6-3 his pediatrician estimated — but "there’s nobody here that questions who the man in the building is," Mitchell said.

"He’s the guy," Mitchell said. "Our players know that, our team knows that and he understands how to handle that. He’s still a kid. ... But he’s a guy who you want on the front of your program."

"Ethan’s the kind of guy that can literally talk to anybody," Mitchell added. "He can talk to the president of the United States, he can talk to a homeless person. He is just a unique communicator, and I think that’s probably one of his biggest gifts. I think he’s got a unique relationship with all the kids no matter who you are."

Crawford earned Power Five offers after his freshman season, but his recruitment at that level tailed off. The reason could be several things: the NCAA transfer portal, the COVID-19 relief year, his height.

He was never fazed, though, he said. Crawford's game matured each year, and his tape and numbers show it. He's happy he'll be enrolling at Southern Miss in 2023.

"I was always humble," Crawford said. "I’m always totally me no matter what comes. You can always fall down faster than what you can get up."

"I’m committed to a school that can get me where I need to go, and they’re going to put me in the position to be who I need to be in the future," he added.

Crawford took pressure of his shoulders when he committed in June and has been happier since. The Hillcrest leader's full attention is on helping bring a state championship to Patriot Parkway.

"They've seen me grow up, so they know how important the things are that I do and what we have to do together," Crawford said. "They know how important those things are to me, and they respect it. They’ll run through a brick wall for me, and I’ll do the same."

Jerell Rushin is a recruiting reporter for the Tuscaloosa News and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jrushin@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: USM commit QB Ethan Crawford is Hillcrest football's driving force