Crenshaw adds another preseason nod
Punter Evan Crenshaw had an active offseason: he was nominated as a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, received the inaugural Sun Belt Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year Award and became Troy’s first FBS All-American Player. Despite all of the noise, he’s staying focused on perfecting his craft.
“My biggest goal is to average more than I did last year,” Crenshaw said. “I think the benchmark could be one or two yards to keep it attainable.
“My big thing is really to win a conference championship game. I played in two, lost both.”
Despite staying focused on winning, he’s also representing Troy on a national stage through an All-American nod.
“It’s a small town, but they’re great,” Crenshaw said. “They care about football; it’s a football town.
“Everywhere I go I see Troy people. Even back home it’s just great to see this small town create a nationwide brand.”
Crenshaw also touched on representing Troy at Sun Belt Media Days over the summer, saying how it was really fun seeing a different side of the game and talking to all the media people and the coaches.
The punter mentioned how his support system has been while being in the national spotlight.
"This is the place I wanted to stay for my last year,” Crenshaw said. “This is the most connected team I’ve ever been a part of.
“Obviously, my family, they’ve been great, and they’ve always believed in me even maybe when I didn’t believe in myself.”
With Crenshaw becoming a national focus, inevitably, the talks around a future in the NFL have risen. He touched on this by pointing out how he needs to be more consistent.
“It would be a dream come true just like with everybody else,” Crenshaw said. “The notion after last year was ‘You’re going to the NFL,’ because you have one good year but the NFL, they want to see if you can do it again.
“Last year was a good breakout year, but I have to go do it again.”
Last year, Crenshaw showed that being a punter isn’t just punting the football; it may lead to throwing a 11-yard pass to keep a drive alive. Against Southern Miss in the deciding game for the Sun Belt West, he did just that.
“I think we had that dialed up for the whole year,” Crenshaw said. “Me and Donnie ran that hundreds of times, we were confident in it.
“We’ll have to draw up some fun ones this year.”
From his Ray Guy Award nomination last year to being a finalist this year, Crenshaw is still focused on improving every day.
“It’s taken me five years to get to where I am now, playing college with all the ups and downs,” Crenshaw said. “It’s nice to get those recognitions, but at the end of the day, I have to do it again.”
The All-American star will debut in the home opener against Sam Houston State on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN+.
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