Georgia Football: Will Isaiah Crowell Take That Next Step in 2012?

Spring football has officially begun for the Bulldogs and Isaiah Crowell is still the No. 1 tailback on the depth chart, despite having Richard Samuel, Ken Malcome and Brandon Harton returning who all started at least one game last season.

The reason Crowell is the No. 1 tailback is not the fact he ran for 850 yards and five touchdowns or the fact he was named SEC Freshman of the Year. He is the No. 1 tailback because he gives the Bulldogs the best chance to win.

That being said, the question now remains: Is he ready to take that next step?

Earlier in the week, Crowell said that he wants to win the Heisman this season. Does he have the talent to win the award for the most outstanding college football player? There is no question he does.

Has he learned from the mistakes he made last season and is he more physically tough? That remains to be seen, but he is doing and saying all the right things to make fans believe he is ready to be an elite player.

Last season, Crowell only played in six full games because he was either nursing injuries or in Mark Richt’s doghouse. It was frustrating for fans to see Crowell leave the game and not come back because the expectations were high for the running back from Columbus, Georgia.

That led to Samuel, Malcome, Harton and Carlton Thomas seeing more action than anticipated. Thomas was expected to return for one more year, but he decided on Tuesday that it would be in his best interest to transfer.

However, that still leaves the running back position crowded with the other three and I haven’t even mentioned highly recruited players Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley, who could be the No.1 and No. 2 running backs when it’s all said and done.

Everything is set up nicely for Crowell to have a breakout season. The schedule is not as difficult as it has been in the past, Murray is a veteran quarterback that will make sure to put Crowell in the right position to make plays and his teammates support him every step of the way. But it is up to him if he wants to have the season fans, players and coaches have hoped for since he arrived on campus.

He knows that some people have called him immature and he knows that he has to be tougher.

Crowell went through some growing pains last year, which was something he likely never had to deal before. When he was at Carver-Columbus High School, he was the big man on campus. Nobody challenged him and he thought he could do the same thing in Athens.

No matter how highly recruited a player is, he or she has to start over when it comes to intercollegiate athletics and that is what Crowell seems to be doing now at spring practice.

So, will he take that next step? If it’s the Crowell that showed glimpses of greatness on the field last season, the answer is yes. But if he is still getting in trouble and not doing things to protect his body, Marshall and Gurley will be stepping in the forefront sooner than later.