By Lee Davis
Landon Crowder of Vestavia Hills has never played any position in football except quarterback.
It’s really because he didn’t have a choice.
As a young kid growing up in Gardendale, Crowder would play endless hours of backyard football with his older brother, Paden. And Paden liked to play receiver. So guess who played quarterback?
“Paden was older–and bigger–and he really liked to catch the ball,” the younger Crowder said last week. “I spent a lot of hours throwing the ball. By the time I started playing in an organized league, I had a lot of experience.”
The experience paid off. The Crowder family moved to Vestavia when Landon was in second grade. Let’s fast forward to 2014, where Crowder is entering his third and final season as the starting quarterback for the Rebels.
“I can’t believe I’m a senior,” he said. “We’ve only been in school for a week, and it seems like the year is almost over. It’s truly flying by.”
And while any senior football player wants to make his last season memorable, Crowder and his teammates will have two unique opportunities. Because of Alabama High School Athletic Association realignment, Vestavia moved up to the new Class 7A, which features the 32 largest schools in the state. The Rebels are aligned in Region 3, which includes perennial powers and longtime rivals Hoover, Spain Park and Mountain Brook.
“We’re excited about the new region,” Crowder said. “There really isn’t an easy game. We’re used to playing tough schedules, but this sort of takes it to a new high.”
The other thing which makes the 2014 season special for Vestavia is that the Rebels have an appointment with history. Coach Buddy Anderson began the season only two wins away from becoming the winningest coach in the history of Alabama high school football.
“This team feels so blessed to have the opportunity to get the record for Coach Anderson because nobody deserves it more than he does,” Crowder said. “He has coached for so long and done so much for so many people. As a quarterback, I spend as much time with him as anybody, and I can say that he’s a great coach and an even greater person.
“I just hope we can get the record for him very early in the season,” he said, laughing.
Vestavia should have the tools to win a lot more than two games. Christian Palmer, Carter Jacobs and Walker Minor are fine running backs, and Ben Cage, Austin Chandler and Hayes Lucas are stalwarts in the offensive line. All-State defensive end Dalton Campbell has graduated, but Clayton Ferris and Alex Robin will lead the Rebel defense.
“We’re young in some areas, but we’ve got some talented players and everyone has a great attitude,” Crowder said. “It will be interesting to see how far this team can go.”
Vestavia has a longstanding reputation for having a run-first, pass-second offense, but Crowder thinks that works to a quarterback’s advantage.
“Other teams are always expecting us to run, so they put a lot of guys in the box,” he said. “That creates lots of opportunities for our receivers to get open.”
Anderson is clearly a fan of that philosophy–and of Crowder.
“We have a run-oriented offense, and we plan to throw the ball when we want to do it and not when our opponent wants us to,” the coach said. “Landon is very talented and an outstanding leader. He has a great understanding of our offense and what we are trying to do.”
Although the Rebels finished 11-3 and reached the state Class 6A semifinals last season, Crowder won’t set a win total for what he would consider a successful season.
“My goal is for us to be the best team possible,” he said. “If we do that, the victories will come. My personal goal is to be a better leader and improve every day.”
Crowder, as is the case with all his teammates, keeps a busy schedule. On Tuesdays, for example, there is often a team meeting before school classes begin at 8 a.m. Then there’s practice in the afternoon.
“Tuesday practices are the toughest grind of the week,” he said. “We get a lot of work done, and it’s really tiring.”
In the evening, Crowder might go to a friend’s house to study before heading home and going to bed between 10:30-11 p.m.
“Then I get up and do something very similar the next day,” he said. “You can tell why time goes by so fast during the season.”
Perhaps Crowder should have said “seasons.” He also excels in basketball and baseball as a rare three-sport letterman in this age of specialization.
“I can’t imagine not playing,” he said. “Even growing up, I was always playing whatever sport was in season. It’s too late for me to stop now.”
Crowder said playing three sports requires special discipline.
“You have to manage your study time around practices and games nine months out of the year,” he said. “I know everyone says that, but it’s hard to do. Also, when you’re playing multiple sports, you have to focus on that sport and not the others.”
While Crowder knows he probably can’t play three sports in college, he certainly would like to pursue at least one of them.
“I’d love to play either football or baseball at the next level,” he said. “Hopefully that opportunity will come along.”
His older brother may be the inspiration. Paden is a junior linebacker for Coach Nick Saban’s University of Alabama Crimson Tide.
“Paden stands about 6-4 and weighs about 230 pounds,” Crowder said. “When he was catching passes in the backyard, I never thought he’d be a linebacker in college.”
Having a brother play for one of college football’s top programs may be fun, but it can create potential conflicts. As of last Thursday, Crowder was uncertain about his weekend plans.
“My parents are going to Atlanta to watch Alabama play West Virginia, and my girlfriend is going to Auburn for the Arkansas game,” he said, laughing. “Whatever I do, somebody isn’t going to be happy.”
Maybe not, but Landon Crowder should make a lot of Vestavia fans happy in 2014.
