Wisconsin Badgers Commitment 101: 2021 RB Loyal Crawford

The Wisconsin Badgers added running back Loyal Crawford to their 2021 recruiting class Thursday. Here's what Crawford's commitment means for head coach Paul Chryst moving forward.

Loyal Crawford missed much of his sophomore season due to injury, so expectations are sky-high this fall for the new Wisconsin commit. Prior to his injury, Eau Claire Memorial head coach Mike Sinz estimated his star back, who has been a varsity performer since his freshman season, was averaging close to 160 yards per contest.

"I first met Loyal when he got done with 8th grade when he came in to lift in the summer," Sinz told BadgerBlitz.com. "He was so explosive, so fast and he was lifting with our upperclassmen - kids that were three or four years older than him. Right away you knew he was a gifted kid and he's starting to put it all together.

"He had the collarbone injury last year and he'll be a huge piece of the puzzle for us. He's our guy on offense and he is, in my opinion, one of the best kids in the state. And with my growing up following high school football really closely, he's probably the best football player I've ever been around. He's that talented."

Crawford tested and performed well at Wisconsin's camp over the past two summers. He runs the 40-yard dash in the 4.5- to 4.6-second range and also excels in the weight room. At 6-foot and 190 pounds, Crawford also has a frame to add more good weight.

"He went to the Badgers' camp the last two years and tested really well," Sinz said. "Coach (John) Settle absolutely loves him. The sky is the limit for him, it truly is. I think he's high 4.5s (seconds in the 40-yard dash) - around 4.58. In the 100 (meter dash) he went from an 11.5 (seconds) to an 11.1 in about two months, and that was with him carrying 20 additional pounds after the football season. In the weight room, he power cleans 300 pounds and he benches around 260 or 270. He can squat a ton, too.

On film, Crawford can hit the hole with explosion and is fast enough to separate from linebackers at the second level. He shows great balance and footwork, and an ability to run between the tackles or break plays to the outside. Crawford also runs behind his blockers, has good pad level and a great one-cut burst to create space.

As a junior, it will be interesting to see if Crawford is used as a receiver out of the backfield in Memorial's offense. Additionally, it will be worth paying attention to his ability as a pass blocker, something we didn't see on the sophomore tape. After another off-season in the weight room and a clean bill of health, look for Crawford to be a more violent and punishing runner in 2019.