Charles Nailen/The Hoya Sophomore quarterback Drew Crawford came in to help Georgetown to its first win of the year.
“Two-minute offense,” Head Coach Bob Benson said in Wednesday’s practice. “Two minutes on the clock, no timeouts. Put the ball in the endzone.” The Georgetown football team is familiar with this drill. It is designed to simulate a crucial game situation, but the Hoyas were not as familiar with the player leading the offense.
Sophomore quarterback Drew Crawford is the new starter for the 1-2 squad. After spending the first two games of the season, both losses, on the sidelines, the underclassman got his first real shot last Saturday against Fairfield. Crawford will start this weekend against Florida International.
He replaces junior Morgan Booth under center. Booth stands to the side on Kehoe Field with senior quarterback Dave Paulus, watching the new quarterback execute a drill they know well.
Crawford starts out throwing soundly. He completes two consecutive sideline routes with quick, strong throws. But his receiver fails to get out of bounds on the second reception, and Crawford is forced to hurry to the line along with the rest of his offense.
The third snap is executed in a hurry, and the pass rush gets to the sophomore. He trips over a defensive lineman and falls for a sack. Crawford is forced out of the pocket and tries to run for a first down before his coaches tell him to get rid of the ball and he throws it away.
“Time,” Crawford yells to the sideline. He has 35 seconds left and 40 yards between the ball and the endzone.
He recovers and throws an excellent sideline route for another first down. But the damage has been done. Only 17 seconds remain, and the field goal team comes out and misses the attempt.
Crawford didn’t score six here, but this two-minute drill was far more successful than the first one he ran in a game. The sophomore first got the ball against Fairfield with two minutes left in the first half.
“Everything was a lot faster than I was used to. Plays were coming in fast, and the defense was really on its toes,” Crawford said.
The accelerated pace of the game got to Crawford, and he was unable to find the endzone. Luckily for the new quarterback, the defense played superbly in the game and had only allowed six points when the half ended.
Coach Benson wasn’t expecting anything from the sophomore’s first drive. He turned to Crawford to change the momentum on offense.
“We were struggling in the first half. I felt we were better than that team,” Benson said. “We just needed a change, and I decided to put Drew in.”
The substitution was not an easy decision for the Hoya coaching staff. Morgan Booth earned the starting spot on the roster with a strong arm and excellent leadership skills.
Crawford, however, brings his own gifts to the huddle. There is a great deal of parity between the new starter and his predecessor, but Crawford has abilities that earned him the job. Quarterbacks Coach Joe Moorhead knows why Crawford was chosen to lead the team.
“Drew understands our offense. He has a good arm and is very poised. But his best asset is he’s smart,” oorhead said.
When the Hoyas went in to the locker room at halftime against Fairfield, the team was unaffected by the change. The Hoyas simply focused on closing the three-point gap.
“Everyone was really positive at halftime,” Crawford said. “We had a lot of near misses in the first half.”
The half also gave Crawford an opportunity to settle down after a frenetic first series behind center. He focused his energy on the next time he got the ball.
The Hoya defense got a three and out from the Stags, and the offense had excellent field position on their own 46 for Crawford’s second chance. Crawford settled down and threw two passes to junior wide receiver Luke McArdle for 32 yards. The Hoyas covered the rest of the distance on the ground, and sophomore running back John Sims finished the 54-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
“That was the biggest drive of the game,” McArdle said. “Our defense had kept us in the game, and we had to do something on offense.”
Sims’s touchdown was the Hoyas’ first score in the second half this season. It gave Georgetown a second half lead and the type of push that comes from scoring on an opening drive.
“We needed a boost, and we got it,” Benson said. “That drive was huge for us. We took the lead and set the tone.”
Crawford was not nearly as impressive in the remainder of his drives. The Hoya running game rushed for 100 yards for the first time this season, however, and the defense blanked the Stags in the second half.
“People recognize when a change is needed,” Benson said. “We had some positive things happen, and we have to build on that.”
Crawford’s offensive teammates understand that they have to adjust to a new leader in the huddle. The offensive adjustment is not likely to be a large one for players who saw both sophomores when they competed for the job in preseason camp.
“Drew makes good reads. Most guys have gone with the change,” McArdle said.
The Hoya coaching staff is also supportive of the switch. The coaches realize that the adjustment period involves a great deal of stress and work. The staff would not have made the switch, however, if they didn’t think the underclassman could handle the move.
“Drew has a very laid back demeanor,” Moorhead said “He doesn’t rattle easily.”
Crawford is by no means oblivious to the accountability of his position as leader of the team. He understands that scores are seen as direct results of his performance. He knows that he’ll take his share of losses both personally and as the leader of the team.”
“I just try to stay calm and keep things simple out there. I understand mistakes will be made, and I’ll make mistakes, but we can recover from them,” Crawford said.
Crawford also understands that he is very fortunate to win his position as leader of the offense so early in his collegiate career.
“This is the kind of opportunity you play this game for,” Crawford said.
The Hoyas look to feed off Crawford’s enthusiasm at his new position as they try to even their record at 2-2 this Saturday down south.
“There will be growing pains with this thing. We are hoping it is the right change. Next week we face a better football team with much better athletes,” Benson said. “We look forward to following Drew.”
Crawford’s growing pains come along with a learning curve in many facets of his game, the most important of which is the change in focus and intensity that the sophomore must make to meet the challenges of his new role.
“Morgan Booth is a tremendous leader, and I learned from him. I have to exude more leadership,” Crawford said.
Crawford’s leadership, more so than any physical aspect of his game, could be the true mark of his success as Georgetown’s starting quarterback.