Follow UC Davis: Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Facebook

Next time you're at a UC Davis football game, follow the routes of Aggie wide receiver Carson Crawford.

They're crisp, fleet. More often than not, he's wide open.

But as No. 6 dances around the turf at UC Davis Health Stadium, fans also will notice glints just over the redshirt sophomore's shoulder.

It's another No. 6 — Carson's late father Chris, a former All-American quarterback at Portland State — providing inspiration.

Chris, 51, died in January. But through his dazzling/personable son lives his legacy.

Carson remembers he and his sister Payton talking with dad just before last Christmas...

"It was like he was preparing me ... for life without him," Crawford said after Tuesday's Aggie practice. "I know it sounds weird, but he'd always leave me clues: like notes in my cleats before games saying things like 'I'm always with you.'"

Chris Crawford — who worked for Nike in Oregon for 25 years — knew he was dying last December. Doctors told him he had three to five years remaining before the cancer he had battled for almost a decade might be his demise.

But the elder Crawford, who had just retired and looked to a future packed with adventures which he had only thought about, died while on vacation in Mexico.

"It was abrupt," remembers the Aggie wideout. "That last conversation we all had?"

Carson figured there would be others. But along the way, the elder Crawford provided support, influence and advice that will last his son a lifetime.

"We were extremely close," the Beaverton (Oregon) High four-sport standout says, adding his dad taught him how to talk to people, how he tackled schoolwork and gave him hints on how to navigate the demands of football. "He taught me how to be the man I am today ... and who I strive to be when I'm older."

Crawford and his sister wear wrist tattoos that say "Press On" — a saying their father would use during the challenges of his bout with cancer. Carson since had added Roman numeral VI to the phrase. 

Speaking of "pressing on," Crawford has suffered from sun blindness in one eye and his contacts, fitting improperly, have given him terrific headaches. 

He says it's "an inconvenience" believes laser surgery will help allay the problem, although not completely relieve it. For now, he says, the affliction isn't getting in the way of his football career.

"It's hard not to get emotional when you talk about Carson, after all he's been through and what he means to this team as a person and a player," says Aggie receivers coach Cody Hawkins. "Nobody on our team is perfect, but if you're seeing one guy who approaches every day well — and handles adversity well — is smart and can play every position on the field ... it's Carson."

As a junior in high school, Crawford was an evasive slot man, catching almost 1,000 yards-worth of passes. As a senior, he further channeled his father at quarterback.
Beaverton High QB Carson  threw for 3,010 yards, rushed for 786 yards and completed 37 touchdown passes.

In the 1980s, left-handed Chris Carson piloted the Vikings to two lower-division championship games losing both.

"He used to joke with me that he actually got a Heisman Trophy vote. Yeah, a D-II quarterback getting a Heisman vote," says Carson, his broad smile acknowledging the pride with which he talks of his father.

Carson knew dad was proud and last year Chris attended every one of his son's home games. Along the way, the chip off the ol' block continued to excel.

As Montana comes to town this weekend, fans will flashback to UC Davis' 49-21 cornerstone victory on the road.

Crawford caught five passes for 61 yards and a touchdown as the Aggies outscored the Griz, 46-0, after halftime. Crawford also threw a 56-yard pass to Wes Preece. You know Montana remembers.

This year, Crawford leads Davis with 24 catches for 317 yards and touchdowns in wins over San Diego and Lehigh. He also is 2-for-3 passing for 45 yards and a touchdown pass to Matt Hyman.

So, which is it, Carson? Would you rather throw for points or catch TD passes?

"Catching a touchdown pass is a better feeling," Crawford immediately replied. "But there's always a little bit of quarterback in me. When we do those trick plays and I throw a touchdown — that's awesome.

"But when you have a quarterback like Jake Maier, it makes you want to play wide receiver. Jake is one of those guys who can put the ball exactly where you need to have it."

Carson says he was drawn to Davis after a discussion with Cody Hawkins, who coached against Crawford in Oregon: "I had heard of Coach (Dan) Hawkins, how good a coach he is and that he was coming to Davis with the kind of program he runs."

Crawford said he researched campus offerings and the city. He saw the academic excellence.

"California? UC Davis? I could get a great education, and with a whole new football staff coming in, I knew I could be part of something special at a program that has such a historic past."

Crawford credits the seniors during his redshirt 2017 season as being trailblazers for the 10-3 campaign to follow. He says the current No. 5 national ranking is a salute to all the hard work players, staff and administration have put into the resurrection of Aggie football.

Was there anything that surprises Crawford about Davis?

"Yeah. I'm looking at it right now," said Carson as he sat under an awning of a shade tree at the Howard Way grass practice facility. "Coming from Oregon, and you know how many trees there are and how beautiful the landscape is there? It's green here, too. 

"I came to Davis on my first visit thinking there were no trees ... now my biggest thing is how beautiful the campus is. It's just so pretty. And the small-town feeling. The things that sold me were the academics and how beautiful this place is."

Graduation remains a couple years off for the design major, but does the 5-10, 165-pound speedster have any thoughts about life after UC Davis?

"Playing (pro) football is always a thought," Crawford says. "But my end-all, be-all is working at a company where I can mix design and business. That's why I'm doing the design major, with marketing and a minor in business technology."

But for now, Crawford is keeping his on the ball.


Editor's note: One of the most well-known and respected sports writers in the industry, former Davis Enterprise sports and managing editor Bruce Gallaudet joined the UC Davis Athletics staff as its feature writer in the summer of 2018. Since then, visitors to UCDavisAggies.com have enjoyed his unique perspective on campus student-athletes, coaches, teams, individuals, programs, events and projects that represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.