Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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18 SEPT. 23, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ANDREW MENTOCK A theme of the current NFL sea- son is the mental turmoil a player must go through in or- der to rehab and recover from a serious injury. It's a topic that has been discussed by several highly paid players, such as Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz — who missed more than a season due to ACL and MCL tears and a back injury — and In- dianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. It was the psychological strain of his injuries that lead to Luck's early retirement just before this season. At the press conference where Luck announced he was stepping away from football, he spoke about how difficult it is to go through the cycle of injury, pain and rehab over and over again. Fifth-year senior Shaun Craw- ford is one Notre Dame player who knows this injury cycle and the pain associated with it all too well. He missed all of last season after tearing his ACL in fall camp. It was his third season-ending injury. He tore his ACL for the first time in fall camp of 2015 and ruptured his Achilles in the second game of the season in 2016. But in the Irish season opener against Louisville Sept. 2, he made his first game appearance since the Citrus Bowl against LSU on Jan. 1, 2018, and registered four solo tackles. In addition to contributing at nickel, a role he filled during the 10-3 2017 season, he started at corner and filled in at safety. "I had nothing to lose," he said. "I had to come back in the spring to graduate, so I felt like I was going to be here anyway. I might as well rehab my butt off and pay it back to all those people who helped me get to this point." To get through his third signifi- cant rehab, Crawford drew strength from his family and teammates. His mother messaged him consis- tently throughout the process, and he thought back to his youth when Crawford's father drove him to prac- tice and would even take off work to get him where he needed to be. If they never gave up on him, why should he? His teammates had a similar mind- set. They had witnessed Crawford's resolve after his first two injuries and never doubted his ability to come back from a third. "There wasn't one person on the team that said, 'Maybe this isn't it,' or 'You should give it up,'" he said. "It was all like, 'All right, you'll be back next year and we can't wait to see you play.' And the same from the coaches. "When you have support like that, there's no negative energy in the air. It was easy for me to just keep going." The same goes for head coach Brian Kelly and his staff, who Craw- ford said never stopped believing in him. On the other hand, Crawford's teammates also feed off his persever- ance. Senior defensive end Julian Ok- wara mentioned how uplifting it was to see him on the field against Louisville making plays, while start- ing Mike linebacker Drew White said knowing the trauma Crawford and former Irish player Drue Tranquill went through motivated him as he dealt with a shoulder injury he suf- fered in the spring. "It's definitely exciting to see him get knocked down and get back up every single time and [be] even bet- ter than he was before," senior wide receiver Chase Claypool said. "I hope he just keeps doing well — I know he will." Rather than getting lost in the frustrations of his previous injuries, Crawford used his experiences for additional support. He knows what it takes to come back and, in a way, that was reassuring to him. "I don't know the future, so I just usually take it day by day," he said. "I do know what happened in the past that I came back from two, so why can't I come back from three?" Crawford credits strength and con- ditioning coach Matt Balis with help- ing him return to a high performance level. He was extra motivated in the weight room, knowing he can't af- ford to break down late in the season like he did in 2017. During fall camp, the Notre Dame coaching staff closely monitored Crawford's practice reps, knowing that many of his previous injuries came near the start of the season. "We've done a good job of tem- pering his play count and getting a good understanding of where he is health-wise on a day-to-day basis," defensive backs coach Todd Lyght said during fall camp. "We want to make sure we get him enough work to play a very high level, but at the same time, we don't want to wear him down and injure himself." As Crawford showed by playing nearly 60 snaps against Louisville, he is fully healed and ready to con- tribute to the team. His teammates see it as well. "He hasn't skipped a beat, as far as I know," said Claypool, who went against Crawford in practice throughout fall camp. "I think he's still running around, doing the same thing: making plays. "He just has a knack for making plays." With such an emphasis on his past injuries and his recovery, now Craw- ford is given the seemingly difficult task of putting all three past impair- ments out of his mind. Perhaps the worst thing he can do it play with too much caution, which is more likely to put him or his team in an adverse situation. "Anytime on the field, I feel like if I'm worried about injuries then I'm hurting the team," Crawford said. "If I'm going to be out there, I need to focus on playing fast, contributing and helping the team. I don't fear [more injuries] because I don't know the future. "The plays I got hurt on in the past were routine plays, and I can't do anything about it now. If I were to go COMEBACK KID No matter how many times injuries knock him down, Shaun Crawford gets back up