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Four score: Crooks finds home in zone
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by Tyler Mason
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Believe it or not, the player with the most touchdown receptions on the Wisconsin football team is a linebacker.
Well, he's a linebacker by trade, at least.
After switching from defense to offense this past off-season, junior tight end Andy Crooks currently leads the Badgers with four touchdown catches. The recently converted receiver gives some of the credit to his coaches, however.
"I think it has to do with [UW offensive coordinator Paul] Chryst and his play selection, calling my number when we get down there," Crooks said of his ability to make scoring plays. "It's great to catch touchdowns. It's great to get in the end zone."
So why the switch from linebacker?
"Coach Bielema said, 'We're thinking of moving you to tight end.' I thought it'd be a good fit," Crooks said. "I hadn't been playing a lot last year. He had had the idea, and I was all for it because I was just looking for a chance to get on the field. Things have worked out real well."
Despite a lack of experience at the position, Crooks was originally recruited to play on the offensive side of the ball.
"I played tight end for maybe two or three snaps in high school," Crooks said. "Coming in, that was actually the position I was recruited at. But after my senior year of high school, I had a really good year on defense, so they were like, 'Oh, we'll try him out at linebacker.'"
So far, the transition has been smooth. Crooks spent much of the off-season working with the quarterbacks and with passing machines to improve his hands, since his pass-catching experience was limited.
His hard work has been noticed by his coaches and teammates.
"The proof is on the field," tight ends coach Bob Bostad said. "[Andy's] done a nice job. He's been productive, he's scored touchdowns, and he's done a nice job of blocking. He's filled a huge void that we had big question marks about."
His fellow tight end, sophomore Travis Beckum, is another converted defensive player. Beckum switched from defensive end last season, so he can relate to the process Crooks has had to go through.
"The transition from defense to offense is a big one," Beckum said. "It's a totally different ball game. The transition's been really good for him. I think he's enjoying it, and he's doing a great job.
Crooks currently has 16 catches to go with his four touchdowns, including one last weekend against Illinois. That play, in which Crooks fumbled the ball and recovered it in the end zone, was ruled a touchdown after officials reviewed the fumble. The touchdown ultimately proved to be the game-winner for the Badgers, who had trailed the entire game.
"I didn't really know what happened," Crooks said of the play. "The ball came out, and I jumped on it before I had a chance to realize anything. I was just mad at myself for fumbling it."
Like many of his teammates, Crooks was a multi-sport athlete in high school. Aside from excelling in football, he was also a two-time captain of the Wausau East basketball team and ran several events in track and field, in which he was a state qualifier in shot put in his junior and senior years.
Crooks feels that the skills he obtained in those other sports helped him as a football player.
"My freshman year of high school, I played baseball, and then I switched to track my sophomore year, mainly to work on my speed," Crooks said. "And then basketball, being able to be athletic and move around and box out and go up for rebounds, helped my hands."
When he's not busy blocking or catching touchdowns, Crooks can often be found making teammates laugh.
"The guy's kind of a comedian," Bostad said. "He's got a good sense of humor. He's a very popular kid on the team."
"I'm kind of a goofball," Crooks said. "I like to sing and dance, sometimes [at practice] when I'm on the sidelines."
All joking aside, Crooks has taken on the leadership role among the tight ends.
"He pushes us hard if we're not doing something right," Beckum said. "In practice, he leads us and he's very enthusiastic and just loves it."
"He's a great practice player because he really wants to be out there," Bostad added. "He enjoys practice."
As Wisconsin looks to continue their winning ways in the last few games of the season, look for Crooks to solidify himself as a go-to target for John Stocco and the Badgers.
"I think a lot of the time, teams don't really realize that he can run with the football and he's capable of making people miss," Beckum said. "When he has that ball in his hands, he knows that he's in his own zone and he's going to do whatever he has to do [to] get past the next defender."
"Individually, I just want to go out and do the best I can every game, be on my blocks," Crooks said. "[As a team], we just have to take it one game at a time and see how it goes."
