Catching up with Eric Crouch
One of the highlights of Heisman weekend is the extent to which so many former winners participate in the events surrounding the awarding of the prestigious trophy. When Marcus Mariota received the 80th Heisman last Dec. 13, almost 20 legendary players were on hand to welcome him into one of the most elite fraternities in sports.
We caught up with several of them that weekend, including 2001 Heisman winner Eric Crouch of Nebrasa. Here’s what Crouch had to say about his Heisman experience and his thoughts on what it’s like to go through the Heisman weekend:
What’s it like to come back to the Heisman weekend as a former winner?
“I’ve been back probably 10 times since 2001. The process is that each year it becomes more and more valuable and you appreciate the invitation back. It’s not like you expect to be invited, but you’re always humbled by the experience and the award is a very prestigious award. It has a lot of credibility. For me, I’m just excited to be back, excited to be around the former winners, excited to welcome in Marcus Mariota and his family. It’s just an all-around great time.
Describe for us your Heisman experience your first time around
“Everybody’s year is unique. What was unique about my year was the Heisman seemed not to matter, because it was after 9/11. It was an emotional time coming here because after I won the award we went down to Ground Zero to visit the firefighters and the people that were still down there working hard who had lost a lot of their best friends. It was still burning, it was still on fire. It was quite the experience. I’ve got some tremendous photographs and memories from that time. But the first thing that I said was that the Heisman Trophy seemed not to matter and when I finally showed up at Ground Zero, it seemed to put a smile on people’s faces. So it really did matter and it meant a lot to those that were down there to get just a little bit of a break and for me to be able to thank them, too, for all their hard work.
It was a close vote that year. Were you nervous heading in to the cermony?
“I didn’t expect to win. I didn’t come here with the expectation to go back to Nebraska with a Heisman Trophy. I was glad to just be one of the finalists that night. I was excited to be around the athletes, to get to know them and their families and just to see New York City. It was the first time I had ever been to the city, so that was an experience in itself and a lot of fun. I was more than nervous. When they walked on stage with the envelope, my heart was pounding out of my chest. I could feel it and it was just a ton of anxiety before the announcement was read.”
What does the Heisman mean to you as you get further away from that experience?
“I think the interest in part is that every year it gets more and more valuable to you. After you win, as things start to settle in, you start to realize that you aren’t just Marcus Mariota, you are Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. To me, that’s a life changing event. Every year former winners come back here, we understand what the athlete is going through, what he’s going to go through. It’s an exciting time for all of us because it is the biggest award in all of sports. There are 100-plus players on a team. What other sport has that? So it’s the ultimate team award. Every year I get more and more thankful for my team and my university, for the previous winners and previous players at my university who laid the foundation of this history and tradition.
What did the former winners tell you when you won and what did you tell Marcus when he won?
“I’ve got some good stories. I remember when I walked up on stage hearing “Your life has changed forever”, I remember that comment. I even remember later in the night, Mike Rozier and Johnny Rodgers, the other two Heisman winners from Nebraska, they got on either side of me and called me the ‘Oreo cookie.’ So, just really good memories.
“Welcome to the family, that’s what I told Marcus. It’s really a great honor to be all together here and to welcome him in and I look forward to watching him in his NFL career.”
