Jared Crick has really torn up opposing offenses in his three years with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Ndamukong Suh’s alma mater. Crick is a dominating player in his own right; but he’s not like Suh. Detroit Lions DL Ndamukong Suh was fined $20,000 by the NFL last Wednesday for a hit on Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton.
Infractions aside, Suh is a beast among beasts, and the search is on for NFL teams to find the next game-changing DL in his mold. Crick’s name comes up often in this specific discussion because well obviously he played with Suh and wears the same uniform. But Crick has his own legacy to build.
“Suh and I are completely different people, completely different players,” Crick said when asked about how the media is quick to label him the next Suh.
“People just kind of see defensive tackle at Nebraska and think oh he must be like Suh, but I’m really not. He’s a great player, but our games are not alike in any fashion. We’re great friends, but we have completely different games,” he continued.
Getting more specific:
“We have different personalities, Suh is at the big time now, but we’re both humble guys. So that’s a similarity. But when we were playing together, he was more the bigger, stronger guy, more the anchor guy, and I was the quicker guy who would have to beat the 1-on-1 in order for the defensive line to succeed, and that’s still true now,” Jared said.
“I’m still not ever going to be as strong as Suh, or as big as Suh, but I still say that my game’s more on being faster than the offensive lineman and hustling to the ball. Suh and I have a lot of similarities, but the overall concept of our game is completely different and that worked for us.”
Suh is currently listed as 6-4, 307 while Crick goes 6-6, 285.
Crick should be a top 10-15 pick in next April’s NFL Draft, and it’s hard to find a player elsewhere in the Big Ten who could go that high. If anyone does, it might be the guy playing right next to him, Baker Steinkuhler, the other starting DT in Lincoln. When you combine these two star tackles with the big name stars in the back-7: Lavonte David and Alfonzo Dennard, and the NU defense should be the best in the league, and among the best in the nation. The blackshirts will indeed be a force to be reckoned with.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
He does regular weekly radio spots in Chicago and Cleveland and has appeared on live shows all across the world from Houston to New Zealand. You can follow him on Twitter