The Return of Jamison Crowder | Next Man Up Podcast | Washington Commanders

What's Good Command his Family? This is Brian Cooper Junior here, and this is the Next Man Up Podcast. Our Next Man Up is no other than Jamison Crowder, our returnment and our wide Receiver. We talk about returning to the Washington Commanders after being drafted by them in twenty fifteen. We talk about his family, We talk about going to Duke, and we talk about a legendary story where Jamison Crowder hooped and got the best of Kai Reed Irving. All

How you doing today? I'm doing great, man, Glad to be here. Oh man.

So we had a lot to talk about man coming off of a very big game, but we don't want to get into that just yet.

We want to get into more of the beginning where it started.

When Roll from North Carolina talk to us about what that city means to you.

It means a lot to me the place that I was born and raised. You know, it's a small, small town right outside of Charlotte. You know, it's it's very sports driven, like the school I went to and everything. We've always had good athletes coming in and out. Football, basketball, you know, it was like the two main sports. But but it means a lot. All my family's there. You know, I go back there now, you know, just to stay grounded. It keeps me grounded, you know, going to see my

Right?

I mean I think, uh, I think the main thing is just like you know, it's just like a southern town.

You know, it's not it's not like a d C. LA or New York. You know what I'm saying.

You know, growing up there, you don't really see a lot of uh you know, big flag and everything like that. So uh, you know, just growing up, you just kind of you know, you go outside back in the days, go outside, play football, my boys basketball. You know, we'll go to the park or really be playing basketball in the backyard where you know the goal right there and ain't nothing but a thing of dirt right there, you know, and then the water were drinking was out of the

And football is give me the opportunity.

Yeah, before you made it to DC, before you made to New York, you decided to go to Duke. You had a lot of options. Sounds like you had some big schools coming at you. What made you decide to say, you know what, I'm gonna take my talents over the Duke.

Uh well, I mean I think it was a lot. It was a lot that went into that. You know, Like I say, Man, been from North Carolina. It's crazy, man, And I've told this story before. Well, my dad played football in North Carolina and t so growing up, Man, I was going to like all the anti games, So I definitely was. It was an anti fan. And believe it or not, like they probably would have offered me first.

Uh to receive that offer.

Then was Duke offered me other you know, a few other division Division one schools in Northkline to offer me.

But uh, Duke was just the right place for me.

You know, as I continue my recruiting visits and stuff like that through during my recruiting time, Uh, they won me over Coach cut you know, they told me what it was going to be and uh, you know the opportunities I would have if I attended you know, Duke University and you know, and in hindsight, man, everything that that he said, you know, kind of came kind of came to pass.

So so I'm very thankful.

That's probably the best decision I made in this point in my life, and.

Clearly was a good decision. And you talk about your pops playing, what would those conversations like when you're in college, care your pops had done this right, He's giving you advice and all that stuff. You finally made it to this point that he made it to. All those conversations between you and your pops.

I mean it was always grad I mean even before college man, like uh playing football and high in high school and basketball and high school man, like they would my dad would come and record all my basketball games, like we'll go home and watch them, and like they were like my parents.

They were like critique and everything.

You know what I'm saying, Like parents do like it, Like we just watching the game, Like I scored six points today, Like you good? Like nah, like I need you to just go twenty next week. You know you know what I'm saying. It is so but nah, it was always like that. You know, they would always you know, be tough on me, you know, always push me to do better or to be better, like I said, from high school and then once I I was just got to college, it was the same thing.

You know.

They would watch the games obviously and they would tell me like, yeah, you should have did.

This, did that.

So so that's just always always getting that critique from them. And then they I mean even now even to this day, they still you know, critique my game, you know once they watch the highlights or whatever it may be.

But yeah, that's just always kind of how my dad and my mom is.

Being and uh, you know, always take take take heed to what they you know, what they're telling me.

Yeah, and you can see it so light up as you talk about your parents. Man, And it's cool because like reading about you know, we do a lot of research coming into the podcast and reading about your family and how they would drive one hundred and seventy miles to come see your games in d C. They driving the DC to see a games. You in New York, They're driving to New York to see a games. Man, What does that support system like and what does that mean to you to have your family so supportive of you?

Oh, that means a lot, you know, it's it means everything.

You know, when when when you have people to come and support you and you know that truly and genuinely care about you and want to see you do well, you know obviously that just kind of helps boost my confidence just you know, makes me to go want to go out there and thrive. And you know, that's the thing I think that a lot of people don't have, and you know sometimes that can be you know, to

And it's not just your parents pulling up. It's your little brother as well. And you and your brother have a very very special relationship with special bond, and I know you've learned a lot for your brother. He just talk about you and your brother and that relationship, and just talk about your brother a little bit.

Right, yeah, man, my brother Jamar. So you know, man, he's he's been very very very special to me.

Man.

You know, ever since I was younger, man, he would coming all the games.

Uh, you know, with my parents, they never left him out, you know, so so just being able to see him come to the games and enjoy the games, it definitely you know, helps brighten up my day and just you know easy.

In my mood.

Whether we go out there, we win, lose, whatever, but just seeing him and have him at the games always just you know, just keeps me mellow. And uh, you know, it's always a great feeling.

And your little brother has has down syndrome, right, And that's a big deal to point out because like you said, they're coming to every game. Even with the things he's going through, he's still there supporting you. And you've mentioned it before in other interviews about how much you've learned from your brother watching him go through his trials and tribulations. How does that put life into perspective seeing what your brother is dealt with his whole life.

Right, I mean it just mean, you know what I'm saying, It just put things in a different perspective. Like you know, he's nonverbal, so he's twenty years old now and you know he hasn't you know, we haven't able to talk to him, you know, communicate with him his whole life. So you know, this is one of the challenges. But you know, he's uh, he's able to communicate with us, you.

Know, different ways. Smart.

You know, you're ask him what he wants, he go get it, point to it, whatever it may be. But that's just a challenge that you know that that we've you know, have to deal with, you know, his whole life. But but for me, man, just putting things in perspective. Man, you know, for me, it's just like I'm just blessed, you know what I'm saying, just to be able to you know, you know, as I said, he can't he can't speak, So it's like for me, I'm just like, man,

Man.

That's awesome. Man, you're definitely blessed. But it sounds like you're a blessing to your family as well. Your mom has said that when you get around your brother, he lights up. He's just different. How cool is that knowing that you can bring that out of him, Like you said, you guys can't really communicate, but you have your own form of nonverbal communication. How cool is that being that light for your brother?

Yeah? Man, it's cool. Man, It's dope. You know what I'm saying.

You know, it's just one of those things that Maham had just have that that connection and it's hard to explain it, but you know, I can, you know, make him do things and bring some of the uh you know, intelligent things out of him that others can't.

So uh that definitely always just you know, lights.

Up and brightens up my day when when when I know that man had that connection, I can do some of the things that others can't.

Yeah, man, thank you for sharing that part. Man.

And uh and it's a pivot. You know, we were talking a little earlier. You said you were hooper. I heard you can do or you can like dunk barefoot just straight off bird.

Is that real? I can't. I can't get out avert, but I can.

I definitely, you know, got a little got a little spring. Takes a little bit older now, so I don't know, you know how much I can get up there, but yeah, definitely high school, college and last few years.

Man, I definitely Yeah.

Yeah, you know, like I said, we'd like to do all research here on the Next Line Up podcast. And I heard this like legend. It's like this legend around Duke where you went to your college visit. You run into Mason Plumley, who's now in the NBA, but at the time was playing a duke and he heard you was an athlete, heard you can hoop, and he said, man, come come hoop with us. You know, you're like, oh no, I don't got no shoes. My man provided the shoes for you. And you go and hoop and run pick

Yep.

I heard you ain't lose one of them.

Right.

It's a pretty big deal, Max, I mean four games about as much as Kyrie played in college. Right, So that's a pretty big deal. Man, talk about that, And it is that true?

Well?

Yeah, yeah, so I'm gonna clear it up. Yeah, that's true. It was actually going into my senior year of high school, and me and my family just went up there to do you know what I'm saying, to see the campus one day, run the mason and uh so we're talking to him.

You know, my mom she's.

A big talker, so she and like, you know, she tells me like, yeah, my son, you know, he recruited for football and everything about it, but uh, you.

Know, I play a little basketball.

So he was like with Shure, you know, he played a little ball, was playing pick up, play on you want to come through. So like you said, like I didn't have any I just I was just some casual clothes, like you know, a college shirt or whatever, some jeans.

And I was like, man, ain't got no clothes. He was like, now you good, y'all good, you know, just come to get you.

So take me in the back. They give me some short shoes everything. So going to gym and all the guys in there, it's summertime. So like the guys like Kyrie and them, they had just got there that was going to a freshman year.

So they just got there for like the first summer setsion.

So like Kyrie Irving, Tyler Thornton, uh Andre Dawkins, Josh Harrison, them guys, but they cleared up, so I was on. It was me the team I was was going against Kyrie. It was me, Tyler Thornton, Josh Herriston, and I can't remember who other tour might have been Mason and Miles when on on our team, but it was Kyrie.

Uh he had one the plumbs on his team. But Tyler Thornton was guarding Kyrie. Okay, okay, okay.

So how they would play, like how they would play pick up was they would do like a seven game series basically. So seeing the team I was on, yeah, we won you know, one four out of you know four, No, and I definitely help guarding. Andre Dawkins was guarding me. I definitely held my own. I was you know, went dropped twenty with the board, but I got me a couple of buckets in there. So it was definitely like, you know, I can I can play. Yeah, there's no

Yeah.

Yeah, you wasn't even ready when you got Buckets.

You know, they raised you got to get rid of show Man, so you do something like that.

I mean that sounds like, especially today, that sounds like a legendary run.

Right.

Did you have any of those moments where you were like, dang, I should have hooped?

Oh?

I mean it definitely would have been a blessing. I mean obviously, like I know, like my height definitely would have been a would have been a hindrance, you know what I'm saying. But like my skill set, if I would have worked on my game all like every day or whatever, like, I definitely would could have a skill set that took play at the cottage level. Basketball was just something really that just came naturally to me, you

But basketball, really my truth was my first love. For real.

Well, man, we're glad you chose fort ball because you ended up here, right. The Commanders of up draft you in twenty fifteen and you end up playing for us for four years. What love do you have for the squad and the franchise that gave you your first shot that draft? Because we know you love it here. Talk about that a little bit and how much it meant to you that night getting drafted by Washington.

Yeah, I mean it meant a lot to me. At the time.

I didn't really know much about you know, d C in itself, didn't know much about the franchise obviously. Man, growing up I was a forty Niners fan, man, a huge wow. But but yeah, man, but ever since I you know, since twenty fifteen, Man, when I when I got here, Man, I loved it. You know, it's just like it's it's like a different feeling when you you

I would say more up and down.

Had a lot of success here, you know, throughout that first team here, and you know, I really didn't want to leave, but you know, it's just the bitiness side of the game. You know, got involved and obviously went to the Jets and then went to Buffalo last year, and you know, now I'm just you know, thankful to be back.

Man.

It's you know, a place that's that's very familiar to me, but a lot of new faces in the building, but you know, it's still a familiar place.

Man.

I love I love d C. I love the culture of d C. Man.

Even when I left, and there were times where I would always me and some of my boys would always you know, make a trip to come back here, whether it was a weekend or a few days, you know. I so I would go to some of the go go shows and stuff.

Like catching the Vibe.

So it's it's definitely one of the places man, that that I you know, that that that that I hold in my heart. That's that's that that that's really true and you know and close to me.

Man.

Yeah, I'll never forget.

Man.

I had just gotten out here myself, and I'm in one of my first meetings and the truck pulls up and we got the windows and you walk out the truck and I'm with a few ex Washington players and everybody got really excited at it.

Everybody's like, oh, man, that's crowded. He's back. He's back.

And for that level of excitement to be from them and they're not even you. How excited were you to get a chance to come back here and almost finish what you started essentially?

Man?

How cool was that to come back here? And what went into that decision as well?

Yeah?

I mean, well, you know it's cool now. I mean se Initially when I came back here, man, they reached out to me. Uh So, I was at the crib. Man, I just got released from the Giants, So I really didn't know, you know, what the what the next shar what the future?

Hell? And sue? Man.

I was back at the house and I just went played ball that morning and uh So I was laid on that evening, I was going to the Duke and Climpson football game and I get a call from my agent. He was like, the commanders want to bring you in. You know, to be a possible returner for week one. So you know, I was just signing the Peace Squad contract obviously, so I really didn't know, you know, you know, gonna be a week the week thing, just one week

Man.

Like I said, you know, point return, I've been able to make you know, a few things happen. And then obviously this past week, Man, we didn't get the win. You know, it sucks, but I was able to you know, play a little bit.

More on office.

Yeah, able to kind of you know, make, you know, make some things happen. So it kind of took me back man to Yeah, my first few years here, being able to go out there and catch passes, man, run around a little bit and FedEx.

Man. It was truly a blessing, man, It was truly excited.

Yeah. Man, I'm glad you broke it down like that because I don't think a lot of people realize what it takes for you to get to last Sunday, right, Like you said, you practiced squad, So I mean we were staying in the same hotel I will see right, So like you know what I mean, we you in a hotel practice squad. Like you said, you don't know if you're gonna be here a week, two weeks, and this is gonna work out And takes a lot of mentality do it takes a lot of belief for yourself,

And that was big man. You know, just even just thinking about it now, man, it kind of gets me chill.

Man. I didn't know, you know, I got released, man, I thought this.

You know, it could have been old with it's been my last year, you know, my last opportunity with the Johns or whatever.

But you know, just for just come back here man.

Everything working out, man, and being able to go out there.

And have an explosive return. Uh.

You know, like I say, it was just it was just a great a great feeling, man. And I'm just very thankful for you know, and I'm continuing. I'm looking to continue to you know, build on that. You know, I'm just trying to you know, be the best player can be hip out of organization.

Man.

But a lot you know, it was a lot unknown, man, Yeah, for sure, go for me. So I'm just thankful man, and blessed man it gets the opportunity again. And no place I'd rather be than to be back here, you know, getting his opportunity.

So thankful for and to take a chance on yourself like that. Like you said, Man, you could have called it quist right, you could have went a whole different direction. What does that belief in yourself come from?

Uh?

I just think it just come from man, obviously, Man, My faith, my mom and my dad. Man, they've always been been huge on you know, you know, believing man and trusted in the Lord.

So you know that's that's that's the main thing.

And and it's crazy, man, when I got released from the Giants, I drove my car away from New York all the way down in North Carolina, and as I was coming through DC, I was on four ninety five and I was like, right there, passing by u X sixteen Arena drug Yeah, and uh in my mind, I was like, man, it'd be dope.

Man, Like, you know, get back right. It was just a thought, man.

You know sometime man, you don't never know how the Lord may bless you so and you know, just that thought, just putting it out there in the atmosphere, just even thinking it. And then like I say, man, right before Man Week one, Man, I got a call to come back here. So it's a little something that you know, people don't know, but just a little something that I thought about, right, and then it came to pass. So I'm just truly blessed and thankful to be back.

And that belief in yourself, in that manifestation is a real thing, right, because i'd even know about that. But what I did know was that you went on Players Club recently and they had asked you, like, yo, what are you looking forward to, like almost like as a return, and you said, you know, man, that's cool, but I want to get into the offense. Man, I want to show what I could really do. Then not even a

You know? It was dope? Man, it was cool.

Say man, everything kind of you know, kind of came came, you know, kind of came to pass, and they all came in a short amount of time. But I think, you know, the main thing I've learned from just this you know, situation or experience, man, is just being patient. Yeah, you know what I'm saying, Just being patient, just staying the course, know, just continuing to work.

And uh, you know, let and let things work out.

So you know, hopefully man, going forward, you know I can I can get you know, a few more reps in the offense because I'm still very confident in my game and ability at receiver, man, you know, and I was just waiting for my moment and I was like, when I'm out there at the ball come my way, I'm catching everything.

That was mentality.

So and like I say, man, everything worked out, like you said, obviously we didn't win, But just from an individual standpoint, man, I felt, you know, very very very juice uff, very confident, and I think that, you know, going forward, I can I can definitely be a spark in the office as well.

Yeah, and you talk about that confidence, A game like that has to tell you like, oh, I'm still an elite receiver. I can still do this. Does your confidence ever waiver leading up to that point though?

Oh no, not this year, not this year.

I mean, like I said, I've even like I said, Mikey going back to the Giant even though with the Giants, man, like you know, I just think some of the business side of things kind of got in the way because even there, man, there's no reason why I shouldn't.

Have made the team. But I think, you know, everything happens for a reason.

Now they're being and there's been times in and throughout my career with my confidence, you know, kind of kind of went down from an offensive standpoint, especially team standpoint. But now, man, I'm just at a at a at a stage of my career and a point of my life where you know, mentally is confidence. Mentally, I'm just an ease. I'm not putting any press on myself. I know it's a game. The game is slowed down for me. I'm older, God, I'm veteran. I still can move, you

Yes, sir. And this wide receiver room is very talented, but it's also very very young. What advice do you give to these young guys to keep this confidence and to just stick it out?

Man?

Because these careers are very long. Man, there's a lot that can happen. What advice you get to these young fellas?

We yell man, you know, wiseman, I give a man just you know, take advantage opportunity now, you know, but but don't put the pressure on it. I think a few years when I was here, earlier in my career, I was putting, you know, unneeded pressure on myself as opposed to just going out there, you know, playing and learning the game, you know, asking it for what it was, you know. And obviously, like I said, man, just take advented opportunity. Don't let you know, anything pass you by.

Man. At the end of the day, it's it's still a game, yeah, you know.

Now with social media and this and that, man, it's a beautiful thing. But I think sometimes, you know, certain platforms and stuff like that can put, you know, pressure on God to be there, you know, and I think that we don't go out there on that field with a clear mind and with a with a mind of you know, confidence and stuff like that, they can hinder you and it can hurt you. So that's that's that's some of the advice I give to the God now.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm I'm I'm I'm good man.

Yeah, man, we love that.

Man.

So for those that aren't familiar with your game and don't really know who jameson Crowded is, man, that's your ISOL camera right there. Look into the ISO camera and tell the command is family. Who Jamison Crowded is, Yeah, man, j crowd.

Man, you know, playmaker, you know, trying to do my thing on punk. You know I've seen in the receiving game. But you know, I'm just a hard worker.

Man. Got to come in and do my thing, do you know, stay in my lane.

Uh you know, I'm laid back, but at the same time, on that field, man, I got a little dog in me. So uh yeah, you know, y'all know it. So you know, I'm just glad to be back and very thankful.

Last question for you, brother, who is the best hooper on the Washington Commanders? Who is the best wit? I'm sure you're gonna talked about a little bit. I'm sure you've seen a couple of guys who who's the best hooper on the Washington commanded.

I mean, you know, always got it. I'm gonna go ahead and save myself. I'm gonna save myself. But it's a couple of guys, say they got a little game, and I haven't really been to, you know, see him much because you know that stuff we're doing the awesome yeh.

But but yeah, I'm I'm.

Definitely I'm definitely the top one of the top three four five.

I don't know who got a game like.

That, but I'm definitely putting myself up there for right. Walko was guaranteed. Nobody went four to o against Kyrie. I think we can say that pretty pretty faithfully that nobody did that. Jameson, thank you so much for opening up to us. Man, they so much to talk to us about your family and about everything. I think the advice you gave is something that we all can live by, whether we play on the football field or not. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jameison Crowder. This is the Next