Cj Crauthers '24 Recruiting Profile

Ever since I was a kid I’ve had this love, love for the game of football. There are truly no words that can genuinely describe what the game means to me. Some say that it's just a game, but to me it’s everything. This game is about love and heartbreak, joy and sadness, passion and fear. To most people it's: go to practice after school, then play a game on Friday nights. To me it's every aspect of the game, from waking up at four in the morning for practice, to watching film and studying every detail of the opponent. One of my biggest fears is having all of that taken away from me. One day in my junior year that fear became reality.

I’ve always had a dream to be the starting quarterback for my team and lead them to success. I’ve always played wherever I was needed to help the team, but the dream was always to play quarterback. Coming into my junior year I had limited playing experience as quarterback and it was looking like I would be moved to a different position yet again. That was until our starting quarterback got hurt. I was thrown into the starting position, and I excelled, never losing a game. I was finally living my dream and was on top of the world. Then it happened, I was tackled and landed on my shoulder. I couldn’t feel my right arm and knew the dream was over. 

Broken collarbone, I was done for the season and possibly the rest of my life. I was in disbelief, not only was my dream crushed, but I might not ever get a chance to chase my dream again. After an x-ray confirming a break, I had a decision to make, let it heal naturally or get surgery. If I ever wanted to be able to throw the ball again, let alone play, I needed to get the surgery, but I was scared. All the what ifs. What if something went wrong, what if it didn't heal properly, so many possibilities. After a few days of sorting through all the negative thoughts and praying and asking God to help me make the right choice I decided to get surgery. One successful surgery and titanium screw later I was ready to start a very long road to recovery. 

After a few months in a sling and in physical therapy I was finally starting to truly get back to myself physically and mentally. I was able to start throwing again in P.T. and get most of the movement back in my arm, but the big question was would I still be able to compete? I was blessed to have a speedy recovery and be able to have the opportunity to ease my way back into sports and football by joining a spring flag football team. I was extremely nervous about playing and possibly letting my coaches, teammates, and family down. After a lot of prayer and asking God to help me I was ready to go out and give it everything I had and see if I would be able to compete again. My team and I ended up winning the championship game that spring. I have to give all the glory to God because he had total control over this entire journey and walked with me through the entire thing. 

 I can honestly say that I am a better person, and a better leader now because of this hardship. I have learned that sometimes life puts us through things that we cannot understand but with patience and perseverance it will make sense. Our setbacks don't have to break us and sometimes they even make us better people. I am once again living my dream and playing better than ever, and I hope and pray that I can continue to do so for a long time.