Jocques Crawford and Markus White Earn NJCAA Football Player of the Year Honors

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 13, 2007) - The 2007 NJCAA football leaders in rushing and sacks have been selected as this year's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively.

Cisco Junior College (Texas) running back Jocques Crawford has been named Offense Player of the Year, while Butler Community College (Kan.) defensive end Markus White earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.

This marks the second time a player from Cisco has received player of the year honors, the last being in 2005 when free safety Jon Batson took home the honors.

Three separate Butler players, including White, have now earned player of the year honors. Grizzly linebacker Austin Panter won last year's defensive award, while current NFL star running back Rudi Johnson won the award for Butler in 1999.

This is the 18th consecutive season a player of the year for football has been selected by the NJCAA and the eighth time that separate offensive and defensive honors have been presented. The awards are sponsored by the NJCAA Football Coaches Association.

Jocques Crawford
Running Back (6-0, 220)
Cisco Junior College (Texas)

Crawford, a native of Memphis, Tenn., led the NJCAA with 1,935 rushing yards this season and tied for second in rushing touchdowns with 19. He scored 118 points, which ranked third, guiding the Wranglers to a 7-3 record and a second-consecutive appearance in the Southwest JC Football Conference playoffs under head coach John Parchman.

His 1,935 yards rushing is the most by an NJCAA running back in a single season since 2000 (2,069 yards- Alan Jones, Lackawanna College ).

The SWJCFC Player of the Year, Crawford averaged 6.8 yards per carry and 193.5 yards a contest, which accounted for nearly 50 percent of Cisco's total offense each game.

Crawford has been recognized as both a NJCAA and JC Gridwire First-Team All-American.

"I am greatly honored and thankful for this award," said Crawford. "It is my hope that this is a reflection of my teammates and coaches at Cisco, who helped make this all possible. I would also like to give my thanks to God and my family who are with me on this journey."

His best performance of the season came on Sept. 22 when he carried the ball 42 times and grinded out 328 yards and scored three touchdowns.

As a freshman in 2006, Crawford led the Wranglers with 1,069 yards on the ground, including eight touchdowns.

"Jocques is deserving of this award," Parchman said. "He is and has always been an unselfish and hard working leader on our team. I would like to thank the NJCAA for selecting this great player from a small college in West Texas for this honor."

To no surprise, Crawford was heavily recruited this year by the likes of Texas Tech, Louisville, Memphis, Ole Miss and North Carolina. However, he recently gave a verbal commitment to continue his football career at Texas Christian University.

Markus White
Defensive End (6-4, 250)
Butler Community College (Kan.)

White led arguably the best defensive unit in the country this year in the Butler Grizzlies. The West Palm Beach, Fla., native set a Butler record and led the NJCAA with 24.5 sacks and also led the nation with six forced fumbles.

His 97 total tackles ranked second on the Grizzlies and 23rd in the nation, while his 14.5 tackles for loss also ranked second on the Butler defense.

White highlighted a nationally-ranked defense that allowed just 235.4 total yards a game and a mere 11 points a game. Even more impressive, the Butler defense pitched four shutouts this year and during a crucial stretch of the season did not allow a single point for 15 consecutive quarters.

Butler finished with a 12-0 record and was awarded a share of the 2007 NJCAA Football title after they defeated then No. 1 Snow College (Utah) 56-27 in the Zions Bank Top of the Mountain Bowl.

In his final game as a Grizzly, White terrorized Snow with eight tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a pass deflection and a blocked point-after-touchdown. To no surprise, he was named the game's defensive MVP.

In addition to his NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year honors, White was also named Region 6 Player of the Year. Butler players have now won both awards two years in a row as former Grizzly linebacker Austin Panter, who currently plays for the University of Michigan, took home the honors in 2006.

White was also a NJCAA and JC Gridwire First-Team All-American selection.

"It is an honor that I greatly appreciate," explained White. "I couldn't have done any of it without my teammates."

White credits the Butler coaching staff for his development, especially defensive line coach Steve Braet, who has three former players in the NFL and has coached 24 NJCAA All-Americans.

"Markus is very deserving of this honor. He is one of the best defensive players we have ever had here at Butler," said Butler head coach Troy Morrell. "He is also the main player in the best defense we have ever assembled. His ability to play the run and rush the quarterback is outstanding. He can take over and dominate a game at any time."

After such an amazing season it is easy to see why top NCAA Division I programs like Auburn, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas State and West Virginia, to name a few, were after the talents of Markus White.

However, White has decided to return to his home state and continue his education and football career at Florida State University.

Photo Credits:
Jocque Crawford pictures:

Julie Daniel photography (www.iblinkfoto.com)
Markus White pictures: Randy Smith (www.bigRsports.com)

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