Sports stats



Crudup Comes to Stockton for 2007

November 22, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Lightning of the arenafootball2 league are scheduled to be assigned QB Derrick Crudup pending approval from the af2 League Office, Lightning head coach Doug Murray announced today.

"What a delight it is to reel in a player of Derrick's caliber," said Murray. "Not only does he make the battle for our starting quarterback job very competitive, but I'm also looking forward to the invaluable amount of versatility he'll bring to the table. His ability to play quarterback, receiver or line up in the backfield will add a lethal dimension to our offense, and we're thrilled he chose Stockton over a variety of other teams that pursued him heavily this off-season."

A six-foot-1, 215-pound signal-caller who has backed-up acclaimed af2 quarterback Kyle Rowley for the 2006 ArenaCup Champion Spokane Shock and former Miami Hurricanes quarterbacks Ken Dorsey and Brock Berlin, Crudup appeared in four regular season games for the af2 Champion Shock in 2006, completing 3-of-4 passes with one touchdown. In his af2 debut with Spokane, Crudup completed 2-of-3 passes for one touchdown in a Spokane 67-24 win over Amarillo.

Additionally, Crudup rushed four times for 23 yards and made two catches for 12 yards on the receiving end last season.

The Deerfield Beach, Florida native previously played four years (2001-04) of college football at the University of Miami (NCAA), garnering a roster spot as a 2001 redshirt freshman on a loaded Hurricanes program that won a national championship, and advanced to the Bowl Championship Series national championship game as a 2002 sophomore.

Crudup appeared in 26 games during his career at Miami, completing 66-of-118 passes for 805 yards and six touchdowns. His most active season came as a 2003 junior, appearing in seven games while completing 34 of 57 attempts for 377 yards and three touchdowns, tallying a career-high 59.6 completion percentage and 53.9 yards per game. Crudup beat out Berlin for the starting quarterback job against Syracuse in a 17-10 win on November 15, 2003 and appeared in the January 2003 Fiesta Bowl national championship game against Ohio State, completing an eight-yard pass in overtime.

Additionally, Crudup's 2003 season included a career-high 29 carries for 75 yards, averaging 10.7 yards per game. He scored on his first rushing attempt of his college career, a 24-yard scramble against Rutgers as a 2001 freshman.

"I'm real comfortable with Coach Murray and the program he's trying to build," said Crudup. "After winning a championship with Spokane, and I see the same kind of atmosphere and the same type of a program building here in Stockton like I saw with the Shock. I'm looking forward to providing all I can to help make the Lightning a championship caliber team."

Crudup competed at Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High where he garnered SuperPrep All-American and USA Today Honorable Mention All-American honors, throwing for over 1,800 yards, 26 touchdowns, and a 60 percent pass-completion rate as a senior. His father, Derrick Sr. played in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Raiders from 1989-91.

The Lightning finished their inaugural 2006 arenafootball2 season with a 5-11 record, finishing fourth in the National Conference's West Division and recently hired Doug Murray as the team's second Head Coach in team history.

In their first season, the Lightning ranked third in af2 attendance with an average of 7,445 fans per home game. Season tickets for the 2007 Lightning regular season are on sale now. For more information on season tickets, merchandise, or other information, please call the Lightning at (209) 373-1500 or visit www.stocktonlightning.com.



arenafootball2 Stories from November 22, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central