College Football: Top 10 traditional option quarterbacks of all-time
3. Eric Crouch, Nebraska
The 6-foot Eric Crouch was the perfect option quarterback for the Tom Osborne giving way to the Frank Solich I-Option system. Coach Osborne retired after the split-1997 national title season and the graduation of quarterback Scott Frost.
For Solich’s first season as head football coach he needed a quarterback and the nod went to converted wide receiver Bobby Newcombe. Newcombe had played receiver on the 1997 title team while Eric Crouch redshirted. Newcombe was injured in 1998 and Crouch took over as Nebraska went 9-4 in Solich’s first season as head coach. To start the 1999 season Newcombe won the job again in the summer but Crouch took over again. Crouch finished his career in Lincoln 35-7 as the starting quarterback.
Crouch, an Omaha, NE native, guided the Huskers to 12-1, 10-2, and 11-2 seasons and three consecutive Big 12 North titles. He ended his time in Nebraska 2-2 in bowl games, including the 2002 Rose Bowl loss to Miami for the national title. Crouch threw for 4,481 yards and twenty-nine touchdowns adding another 3,434 yards rushing and fifty-nine scores on the ground. Crouch’s sixty-three yard reception against the Oklahoma Sooners in 2001 helped push him to the top of the Heisman Trophy ranks and Crouch went on to win the trophy in 2001.
As a pro, Crouch was a third round draft pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. Crouch played for the Rams, Packers and Chiefs in the NFL before continuing on to play in the CFL, AAFL and UFL before retiring from football.