Jack Crawford had not even started his first career game yet, and already he was thrown a surprise.
Walking onto the field before Saturday's game against Akron, the defensive end spotted a fan section of his in the front row near the Penn State sideline, where the group of students hung a cloth containing a black and blue British flag reading "Jack the Ripper."
"It's a nickname for me on the team," said Crawford, not bothered by sharing the same moniker as the infamous London serial killer. "It was a nice surprise. The people who made it asked me about it beforehand; they asked if I minded if they made a banner ... When I saw it, I was surprised."
Less surprising was the sophomore's effort once the game started.
The London native did his best to live up to all of the preseason hype surrounding him, stuffing running back Alex Allen for a four-yard loss on the Zips' second play from scrimmage before sacking Chris Jacquemain for another four-yard loss later in the first quarter.
Despite the impressive debut, Crawford thought it could have gone better.
"Toward the end of the game, we weren't rushing as hard as we should have been and could have been -- mainly the ends," the 6-foot-5, 262-pounder said. "We didn't play up to our full potential."
Crawford felt the most improvement will come through gaining comfort in game action, something he saw on a limited basis last season as one of only three true freshmen to play in every game.
He and the rest of the defensive line will face a different test this week when they face Syracuse's Greg Paulus, the former Duke point guard, at quarterback.
Crawford, who initially came to the United States in 2005 to play on the hardwood, recalled watching Paulus the basketball player.
"He's definitely a great athlete and a great basketball player," Crawford said. "I feel like he's been able to switch."
Yet both Crawford and his 82-year-old coach insist the Nittany Lions aren't changing Saturday's game plan.
"He's a good athlete, he's smart, he learns, he comes out, he knows what's going on," Joe Paterno said of Crawford, "so that's not a question of who he's playing against. He's got certain things he's got to do and I think he's a good enough athlete to do that the way we want it done."
Crawford has only been playing football for four years and said as he continues to understand more about the game it will become easier to play every down.
Now he just needs to get his parents overseas to start understanding his success in America.
"I wouldn't say they understand football so much," Crawford said. "They understand I'm getting a free education, which they're most happy and most impressed about, especially at a university like Penn State. I don't think they really understand football."
