NFL Draft Profile: Dustin Crum, Quarterback, Kent State Golden Flashes
#7
Pos: QB
Ht: 6010
Wt: 210
Hand: 0938
Arm: 3168
Wing: 7738
40: 4.75
DOB: 1/5/99
Eligibility: 2022
Grafton, OH
Midview High School
Dustin Crum
Kent State Golden Flashes
One-Liner:
Despite his inexperience working through reads, underwhelming arm strength and elongated throwing motion, Dustin Crum’s mobility and precision ball placement over the middle may help him eventually find a roster spot as a QB3.
Pros:
For years, Kent State has been home to one of college football’s most fast-paced offenses. Dustin Crum has been the quarterback of the unit since 2019. In that time, he has noticeably improved and shown he can take big hits and stay resilient. While Crum’s arm strength is average, he has flashed a solid deep ball in 2021. Further, the Golden Flash star boasts precision accuracy on quick-hitting passes over the middle to keep the ball away from closing defenders. The Ohio native is sometimes accurate on passes outside the hashes. Moreover, Crum has played with impressive timing since his first year as a starter. In his throwing motion, the Kent State passer lines up his base, steps into his throws and transfers his weight. He is efficient throwing on the run. When defenders step offsides, Crum often notices and takes advantage of the free play. He is willing and able to throw the ball away when necessary. What’s more, Crum misses well. In other words, he keeps the ball away from opponents as they attack the catch point even if he misses his target. Crum can occasionally work simple progressions. Additionally, he makes plays on the ground when left unaccounted for. He has decent linear burst and long speed. Crum uses pump fakes well to create space for himself.
Cons:
Despite his experience, the Kent State standout has a questionable projection to the NFL. First and foremost, Crum has not had to handle many reads in college. He forces passes to his top option as a result of his unwillingness to work through his progressions. Crum also stares down his first read and fails to notice wide-open receivers. Additionally, he is far too quick to check down. Moreover, Crum regularly bails from clean pockets as soon as he feels pressure. Likewise, he will scramble if his top choice does not come open. His inexperience with complex systems and inability to read the field leave as unknown his capacity to notice zone openings, anticipate defenders’ movements from their body language and layer passes. At the next level, Crum will be severely limited by his arm strength. He struggles to pass outside the hashes and cannot consistently push the ball downfield. He regularly underthrows receivers or, conversely, sacrifices placement for power and overthrows an errant pass. What’s more, Crum will need to fix the speed of his throwing motion and the hitch therein. His lower body mechanics falter when he feels pressure which directly worsens his functional arm strength and ball placement. He is unable to pass from creative arm angles. Crum is strictly a linear athlete whose stiffness precludes him from making sharp cuts. He lacks the creativity and power to make defenders miss or break tackles.
Summary:
Standing out in Kent State’s fast-paced but sloppy and mercurial offense was no easy feat. That said, Dustin Crum was arguably the team’s top player by the end of his career. At the next level, he will struggle to work through reads. His arm strength will hinder him and even preclude him from playing in some systems. If he can fix his throwing motion and learn to make progressions, Crum’s mobility and ball placement over the middle may help him find a roster spot as a QB3.
Background:
Born on January Fifth, 1999 in Grafton, Ohio to parents Scott and Amy Crum, Dustin Crum is one of four siblings alongside Devon, Hunter and Harlee. The Kent State star was a standout multi-sport athlete at Midview High School. He lettered in basketball and baseball on his way to two conference championships in each sport. Of course, his best play came on the football field. As a senior, Crum recorded 2,615 yards through the air and 1,557 on the ground. He had 32 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing touchdowns. In his career, the athlete earned various honors. His eight touchdown passes in a game are tied for second in Ohio history. He holds the Lorain County records for touchdown passes in a season (39), career passing yards (8585) and touchdown passes (103). He ran for 3,447 yards and 38 touchdowns in high school. What’s more, Crum earned Academic all-state honors and won two conference titles. He also led his team to a second-place regional finish. That said, he also racked up individual honors. He was named to Cleveland.com’s 2016 Football All-Stars on Offense First Team. What’s more, he was awarded All-District First-Team and All-Ohio three times each. He was a two-time district Offensive Player of the Year and made the 2016 Associated Press Division II All-Ohio First Team. Crum was a two-time Mr. Ohio finalist. Surprisingly, the decorated quarterback saw very little recruiting activity out of high school. 247Sports Composite Rankings gave him a two-star rating. The same outlet listed him as the 2193rd-overall player in his class, the 85th-best pro-style quarterback that year and the 85th-ranked Ohio recruit of 2017. As a freshman, he played in 10 games with two starts. He went 16 for 30 in his pass attempts for one touchdown and two interceptions. He was second on the team with 310 rushing yards. As a sophomore, Crum was awarded Academic All-MAC honors and played in nine games. He completed 16 passes on 27 attempts for 176 yards and two touchdowns. He added 111 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. In his third year, Crum earned the starting job and broke out. He played in 13 games and started 12, putting up 2,625 yards and 20 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He also ran for 707 yards and six touchdowns. He cemented himself in Kent State Golden Flashes history by winning the Offensive MVP of the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl - the program’s first-ever bowl win. In a COVID-shortened 2020 season, Crum passed for 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns with two interceptions in four games. He led the MAC in completion percentage (73.2) and was third in the conference with 12 touchdowns despite missing two games. He led all MAC quarterbacks in rushing with 240 yards and four scores on his way to being named First Team All-MAC. In 2021, Crum was named pre-season first-team All-MAC by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. He was also listed on various pre-season watch lists and as a player to watch for the Senior Bowl. In 14 games, he recorded 3,206 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. He ran for 703 yards and 12 touchdowns on 161 attempts. Crum majored in Aerospace Engineering. His uncle, Mike Crum, played football at Eastern Michigan and Youngstown State. Dustin Crum participated in the 2022 Shrine Bowl.
Grades:
Current Player Value/Potential Player Value
5.3 / 6.5
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