Reusse: Inner voice keeps Crockett running for NDSU

John Crockett was loose. He had 45 yards to travel to put North Dakota State back in front of Coastal Carolina in the fourth quarter.

There always had been a voice in his ear, from the time Crockett was a little kid growing up on the north side of Minneapolis, telling him not to sit still but to get moving, to go faster.

A basketball coach identified the source of that voice when Crockett was in the fourth grade.

"I was running all over the gym, and the coach said, 'You never stop; I'm going to call you the 'Tasmanian devil,' " Crockett said. "I adopted that. He became 'Taz,' my alter-ego. He shows up on Saturdays.''

Last Saturday, Taz's voice was drowned out by the din of 18,000 screaming NDSU faithful inside the Fargodome.

"I heard the roar, but I was more worried about running out of gas before I got to the end zone,'' Crockett said. "I was a little tired by then.''

Crockett got to the end zone. He had started NDSU with a 70-yard touchdown run, and the 45-yarder was decisive in a 39-32 shootout victory in the FCS quarterfinals.

But a little tired? John Crockett? Nobody believes that.

Jeff Ferguson saw the best of Crockett as his football coach at Totino-Grace. And as the school's dean of students, he heard about the worst of Crockett from several teachers.

"John was irresponsible,'' Ferguson said.

Missing school?

"He never missed school; John loved being at school,'' Ferguson said. "The problem was being where he was supposed to be. He much preferred shooting baskets in the gym to a classroom.''

"I wouldn't be where I am today if not for all the people who went out of their way to help me at Totino-Grace,'' Crockett said. "I also wouldn't be where I am today without one big thing in my favor: a hunger to succeed.''

Ferguson also mentioned Crockett's hunger in a conversation, and said: "Because of that drive to succeed, he's going to graduate from college. Considering the boy who came to our school as a freshman and where he was academically … that's a miracle.''

Crockett plans to get his degree in University Studies, with a minor in communication, in the spring.

He first came in contact with Totino-Grace when he attended a football camp as an eighth-grader.

"When school started, he just showed up,'' Ferguson said. "We didn't know much about him.''

His sophomore and part of his junior years were difficult, when his mother had an emotional problem linked to stress.

"His mom's a great lady; she's doing well now,'' Ferguson said. "Just like John, we all love her here.''

Crockett spent several months sleeping on couches with the families of various friends. "I think he had toothbrushes in about six houses at that time,'' Ferguson said.

How would he get to school in the morning?

"I'm persuasive,'' Crockett said. "I'd talk someone into giving me a ride.''

"I don't think anyone we've had as a runner compares with John, with the combination of physical ability and desire,'' Ferguson said.

"And now he has size [6-foot, 215]. If it wasn't for the academics, he would've been with the Gophers, or somewhere at that level.

"NDSU worked out perfect for him, though. They were committed to him, more than a Big Ten school probably would have been.''

Crockett didn't get to put on a helmet for two years at NDSU. First, he was in a "pathways'' program at an adjacent junior college, and then he had to spend his freshman year at NDSU getting eligible for NCAA competition.

He has done tremendous things — 4,069 yards, 5.8 yards per carry, 37 touchdowns — in only three seasons, the first two of which he spent splitting time with starter Sam Ojuri. Crockett has been so impressive as a senior that he's been invited to the East-West Shrine All-Star Game on Jan. 17 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Bison face a mighty semifinal challenge on Friday from Sam Houston State. The Bearkats have 19 transfers from FBS programs on the roster; NDSU has one in King Frazier, a backup running back to Crockett.

"We belong to North Dakota State; we belong to Fargo,'' Crockett said. "We are a team. The Fargodome on Friday night … it's going to be crazy.''

How does "Taz'' feel about Fridays? "He'll be there,'' Crockett said.