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I need an “old school” fix….you know, way back in the day (roughly 10 years ago) when student-athletes coming out of high school participated on the court, the field, the diamond, and other sporting venues for free tuition, meals, and room and board.

Or perhaps they chose to attend a smaller school and received some sort of a partial scholarship.

Or for those who for nothing more than the love of the game chose to continue playing as a “walk-on.”

Believe it or not, but back in the day such individuals did indeed exist. But now, with the NIL (Name-Image-Likeness) in play, some of the higher caliber collegiate athletes make about as much money annually as does the CEO of a big company.

A simple search of the Internet revealed a listing of the collegiate athletes with the highest NIL valuations. The top five are:

Shedeur Sanders (quarterback, University of Colorado) $6.2 million;

Livvy Dunne (gymnastics, LSU) $4.1 million;

Travis Hunter (wide receiver / defensive back, University of Colorado) $3.4 million;

Arch Manning (quarterback, University of Texas) $3.1 million; and

Cooper Flagg (basketball, Duke University) $2.6 million.

I’m not upset with any of these young people for taking what’s offered. I’m pretty certain that there were thousands of behind-closed-door deals orchestrated over the past several decades between college boosters with deep pockets and star athletes. That was illegal back then, but it happened anyway. Now the NIL makes it all legal and without much oversight, it’s a free-for-all for the taking.

And it’s coming to the state of North Carolina. As early as next year, North Carolina’s public high school athletes can accept sponsorship deals, joining roughly 30 other states that already have NIL policies in place.

All of this makes my head spin. In search of a bit of solace, I revisited a story I wrote 10 years ago about a local young man who played the game for what it use to represent: building life values and friendships. Today, I’m republishing a portion of a story I wrote in 2014 about a local young athlete who at that time had no clue about how his life would change through hard work and determination.

Standing two inches under six feet tall and tipping the scales at 160 pounds, Keion Crossen wouldn’t necessarily lead a stranger to believe that he is the BMOC (Big Man On Campus) at Northampton County High School.

However, neither height nor weight is the true measure of a man….rather it’s what lies within – the heart, the drive, the passion.

And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that Crossen has blazing speed (4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash), and the strength to back that up (bench pressing 270 pounds, can dead lift 405 pounds, and is able to squat lift nearly three times his body weight).

Add in the fact that he is an “A” student (3.7 GPA), and it’s no wonder that a handful of colleges beat a path to his door….all asking for him to share his enormous athletic gifts with their respective football programs for the next four years.

After weighing offers from the likes of South Carolina State, James Madison University, Chowan University and Catawba College, Crossen packed his bags by the end of June, 2014 and headed west to the North Carolina mountains. He inked a scholarship to continue his academic and athletic career at Western Carolina University.

The four-sport athlete – he is a two-time medal winner at the NCHSAA State 1-A Track and Field championships in the 400 meter dash and plays basketball and baseball, in his words, “for the competitive spirit” – perhaps could have extended his playing career in either of those venues, but Crossen’s heart beats for football.

“I can remember at around age six, my dad would get me up early in the morning and take me to the track there at Northampton-West and we would run,” Keion recalled. “Every 100 yards or so, I would stop and do push-ups. Sometimes my dad would make me chase him on foot while he was driving the car. He would tell me the only way to get a ride home was to catch him. Some thought that was crazy, but, in the long run, it worked to improve my foot speed.”

The sport of football really started getting fun for Keion in his freshman year at NCHS. He was the team’s starting safety and played in every game under legendary head coach Diego Hasty.

He also excelled at quarterback and during his senior season Keion’s numbers went through the roof – 1,752 rushing yards and 20 TD’s and 403 passing yards with five additional scores. He was among the best defensive backs in the state with 81 total tackles and nine interceptions. For good measure he added a combined 336 yards in kickoff and punt returns.

At Western Carolina, Crossen recorded 165 total tackles and three interceptions during his four-year career.

In the 2018 NFL Draft, Crossen was selected by the New England Patriots in the seventh round. He helped the Patriots reach Super Bowl LIII where they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13–3.

As a side note, it was during that championship season that Crossen took the time to write a weekly column for this newspaper. That alone showed me his true character…never forgetting who he was or where he came from.

He went on to play for four other NFL teams (Houston Texans, NY giants, Miami Dolphins, and Arizona Cardinals). His last stop in the NFL ended in October of this year.

Over the course of his NFL career, Crossen played in 75 games where he had 85 tackles (77 of which were solo), 33 assisted tackles, one quarterback sack, and one forced fumble.

And all this came from a man who was worth more than the paychecks he received…simply because of why he played rather than looking to cash in on his ability.

I needed to repeat his story so that other young athletes from our area can see there’s much more to the game than truckloads of hundred dollar bills.

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.