Vocal leadership ignites spark in team mates

Jonathan Jacobskind/Asst. Sports Director

It’s not the rattling sound of shoulder pads colliding, helmets smashing or even coaches blowing their whistles that fans hear the most when the football team takes the field. It’s the electrifying voices of defensive end Paul Crawford and linebacker Markeith Russell that radiate all across Alonso Field at FIU Stadium.

With spring football in full swing, the Panthers will rely heavily on the vocal leadership of Crawford and Russell to get through those tiresome, body bruising practice sessions that have the Panthers gearing up for an improved 2013 campaign.

“It feels really good to have guys under you that you can pour your knowledge into because I feel like when you can pour your knowledge into someone it also gives you room to pour knowledge back into yourself,” Crawford said about vocal leadership. “When you have teams that are so tight and worry about the play too much, it tends to lead to mistakes, but our defense, we come out with the mindset to fly around, have fun, to hit dudes and it allows guys to play a little looser.”

One of Crawford’s able teammates, Russell who is primed for a breakout season after an injury riddled 2012 season that earned him a medical redshirt, stresses the Panthers won’t enjoy any progress if communication is not present on the field at all times.

“Communication is step one. If you do not communicate, success is very limited,” Russell said. “If we’re not on the same page and communicating with each other then opponents can bust for big plays, touchdowns happen and if we do not get a call and the game is on the line, we can lose on that very play.”

A hometown product out of North Miami Beach Senior High, Russell is no stranger to the spotlight as the 6-foot-1, 225-pound middle linebacker has been a vocal leader ever since the days he suited up for his youth football team, the North Miami Beach Sun Devils.

“Even from my North Miami Beach Sun Devil days I was out there being vocal leader. It’s something my coaches say I’ve always done right, “Russell said. “A great leader is waking up and being able to motivate guys to do something that they love to do. In the heat of the battle, you got to encourage, you can’t lead my discouraging anybody, you always got to pick somebody up. If someone got a big play done on them you got to say, ‘Hey, scratch that off, next play, lets go.’”

As for Crawford, the Texas native registered 18 tackles in 2012 combined with 1.5 sacks. The 6-foot-9, 270-pound senior can always be found riling up his teammates with words of encouragement along with singing and dancing to some of the team’s favorite pump-up songs.

“I’ve always been a high-energy guy and a high-intensive guy and I feel like that has got me where I am today, so that’s why I’m going to continue to keep the intensity high and the energy level high,” Crawford said. “Good players motivate themselves, great players motivate others.”

Despite what it may seem as a competition of who can be the loudest on the field, both Crawford and Russell downplayed the vocal leadership competition and believe being vocal brings the team into a more cohesive unit, but not necessarily guaranteeing the win.

“Markeith is over there with the linebackers and I’m on [defensive] line, we’re not really competing, we’re just trying to be in unison and getting the team loose,” Crawford. “I don’t ever think it’s the riling up that gets the victory. I feel like if anything in that moment, we need to just hunker down, anchor down and just play hard-nosed football.”