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Georgia Football: Tae Crowder, the forgotten bulldog in this year’s draft

By Eric Taylor

LEXINGTON, KY - NOVEMBER 03: Tae Crowder #30 of the Georgia Bulldogs in action during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field on November 3, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. Georgia won 34-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - NOVEMBER 03: Tae Crowder #30 of the Georgia Bulldogs in action during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field on November 3, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. Georgia won 34-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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While other Bulldogs catch all the 2020 NFL Draft headlines there is one Bulldog that has gone mostly unnoticed, inside linebacker Tae Crowder.

Tae Crowder came to the University of Georgia as a 6-3, 220-lb. wide receiver in 2015. He was given a three-star rating by 247Sport.com, however, Georgia football had plans to use him at running back. He is now prepared to enter the 2020 NFL Draft as a 6-3, 235-lb. linebacker after moving to inside linebacker midway through the 2016 season.

Crowder redshirted his freshman season of 2015, before getting on the field in 2016, playing in just five games. He has played a total of three seasons at inside linebacker, amassing 122 tackles, ten tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, five pass breakups, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and one touchdown. In 2019 he was second on Georgia’s vaunted defense with 62 tackles, four of which were for a loss.

Crowder is not on anyone’s top 300 players list, yet he should get signed as an undrafted free agent and be given a chance on a team’s practice squad. He has good size for the position and moderate speed. Crowder claims he ran a 4.64 forty-yard-dash in high school, but that could be closer to a 4.7. Since Crowder was not invited to the combine and Georgia’s Pro Day was canceled we’ll never know the actual number.

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“He doesn’t have great traits but he’s good around the line of scrimmage,” said FanSided NFL Draft contributor Alex Gilstrap. “I love his mental processing skills. He diagnoses plays really quickly and attacks. Physical football player and plays with urgency. [He] Doesn’t quite have the range and athleticism to be a value in the NFL.”

At the end of the day, Crowder has only been a linebacker for a total of two seasons starting just 19 games. He is a work in progress and would be a great addition to any team willing to work with him and grow him as an inside linebacker. As I stated before he is probably destined to be signed as an undrafted free agent, joining a team for training camp and having to prove his worth in the preseason, if there is one.

It is going to be a long road for Crowder to make an NFL roster this fall, but he has the traits that should make a team want to take a chance on him. All it takes is impressing the right coaches in camp and in the preseason and he should at least make the practice squad of a team. From there he could improve his craft and one day make the active roster.\

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Even if it means just playing special teams, Crowder has the ability to make an NFL roster. He has a place in the league. The former wide receiver and running back turned inside linebacker deserves his shot and he will make the best of it. His long-uphill journey begins this weekend. Good luck to him and every Bulldog in this draft.

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