Leading the stage in last week’s football game, Quincy Crittendon begins his last season as a quarterback for Samford.
“He’s incredibly talented,” Thomas Vaccaro, a fellow quarterback said. “He carries himself with a kind of confidence that’s not common in a lot of people.”
Growing up in Decatur, Ala. Crittendon’s football journey started at the age of five as an offensive lineman and the smallest member of the team.
“I didn’t like it at first actually,” Crittendon said, “Growing up I was actually more of a basketball player. It was my favorite thing.”
That was until Crittendon realized in high school that the players were quickly outpacing him in height. That’s when he looked back to football as an option to take more seriously.
At his high school tryouts his older brother, Lamont Crittendon, came to watch and support him. Before tryouts they threw a ball back and forth. Lamont Crittendon started running deep and Quincy Crittendon “chucked” the ball to him. Unbeknownst to him, the tryouts coach, Katarius Johnson was watching. Johnson decided to make Quincy Crittendon quarterback of the high school team, starting his journey in that position.
“He (Johnson) is definitely the one who launched this whole thing. I definitely give him his kudos,” Quincy Crittendon said.
However, Quincy Crittendon owes his biggest inspiration to his older brother Lamont Crittendon.
“He has always been that big brother, the one I looked up to the most. I was always his biggest fan. I loved to watch him play (football) on Fridays in high school and eventually in college. He has always been a go getter his whole life and a hard worker. I just love to see him shine,” Quincy Crittendon said.
Lamont Crittendon also played football under Samford’s Coach Hatcher but at Murray State. When Quincy Crittendon received a call in the middle of a barber shop from the recruitment coordinator for his area to play for Samford, he dropped everything to answer.
“(I) flew out of the barbershop to answer the call. You would have thought he offered me a full scholarship,” Quincy Crittendon said, “I was like ‘let’s do it!’ and the rest was history.”
Since coming to Samford, Quincy Crittendon has had many landmark moments. During his sophomore year in 2022, previous QB 1, Michael Hiers went down during the last quarter of the SOCON championship in the second overtime. Quincy was inserted into the game in his place and ended up scoring the game-winning touchdown.
“It was a lot to take in honestly,” Crittendon said. I really just relied on my faith and all the practice I had had. What really helped me was my teammates. They believed in me a lot,” Crittendon said. “I just kept running and I saw the end zone and I was like ‘I’m halfway here I might as well keep going’ and I ended up in the end zone,” Crittendon said.
“It was a lot to take in honestly,” Crittendon said, “I just kept running and I saw the end zone and I was like ‘I am halfway here I might as well keep going’ and I ended up in the end zone.”
Remarkably, Crittendon didn’t realize that the game was over.
“The crazy thing is- this is how you know I was a young inexperienced quarterback at the time- when I scored, I thought that the game was still going. It wasn’t until I realized everyone was screaming and hollering all around that I realized I had won. It was one of my best memories at Samford,” Crittendon said.
Now as a senior, Crittendon is looking forward to the future. As a computer science major, he hopes to get into cybersecurity.
When asked if he would consider the pro league Crittendon said, “Absolutely! If the opportunity presents itself, I would love to continue playing.”
As the football season starts on a high note, Crittendon is looking forward to the new season ahead.
“Going into the bye week, everyone is ready to tighten up and get back out there, win more and go on a roll,” Crittendon said.
Staff Writer
