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Film highlights: 2024 WR Isaiah Crumpler commits to Rutgers football

Rutgers football adds offensive weapon Isaiah Crumpler to their 2024 recruiting class. How can Crumpler’s skillset help the Scarlet Knights?

Last week, Rutgers football added an offensive weapon in Isaiah Crumpler, to their 2024 recruiting class. The three-star wide receiver is another significant commitment for the Scarlet Knights on offense, with a group that already includes running back Gabriel Winowich and tight ends Monte Keener and Matthew Ogunniyi as well as quarterback A.J. Surace to their 2024 recruiting class.

The North Carolina native from D. H. Conley High School in Greenville, N.C., committed to Rutgers on May 5th after receiving a Power Five offer from Duke. Crumpler recorded 55 catches for 614 yards and five touchdowns for the Vikings last season. Also, Crumpler logged 23 carries for 137 yards and three touchdowns in 2022.

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According to 247Sports, the 6-foot-1 180 pounds tight end is ranked No. 127 in the nation and the No. 27 recruit in North Carolina among his recruiting class. The 2024 prospect has a 5.5 rival rating and is the fifth-best recruit in North Carolina per On3 (No. 157 national rankings).

Film Analysis

Athleticism stats are according to Hudl.com:

40 Yard Dash Shuttle Vertical Bench Squats 400 Meter Dash 100 Meter Dash Clean
4.65 Seconds 4.06 Seconds 35 inches 225 Ibs. 340 Ibs. 50.41 Seconds 11.06 Seconds 260 Ibs.

Crumpler, brother of former NFL tight end Alge Crumpler, is a speedy breakaway wide receiver. Crumpler’s strength, elusiveness, and explosiveness are highly noticed throughout his highlight film. The 2024 prospect is deadly in the open field, outrunning many defenders. His shifty moves make him extremely difficult to tackle.

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Crumpler has excellent hands and can line up in the slot or out wide. He can run multiple route combinations, making him versatile in many offensive sets. The new Scarlet Knight can add depth to special teams with his experience returning punts and kicks. Crumpler should work on his route release as he develops into a Big Ten wide receiver. He tends to take a false step as he releases off the line of scrimmage.

Crumpler is the first wide receiver to join Rutgers’ 2024 recruiting class. According to 247Sports, the Scarlet Knights are now No. 26 in the 2024 overall recruiting rankings in the country.

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Nets superstar Kevin Durant is 16th in NBA history in scoring

Kevin Durant made more history on Sunday against the Pistons.

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant made more history in the Nets’ 124-121 comeback win on Sunday over the Detroit Pistons. When Durant had a 19-foot mid-range jumper over Bojan Bogdanovic, Durant propelled himself past Boston Celtics greats John Havlicek and Paul Pierce for 16th in NBA history in points.

Durant didn’t settle for that as he went on to score 43 points in the game, including 26 points in the third quarter, to help Brooklyn squeak out a win over the lowly Pistons. In addition to achieving his points milestone, Durant helped the Nets achieve a season-high six-game winning streak as well as winning 10 of their past 11 games.

Durant will go down as one of the greatest players to have ever dribbled a basketball, but it is still impressive to see Durant have performances like he did against the Pistons. Even though he has been a model of consistency this season, Durant reminded fans and pundits alike that he can still dominate the game when the moment is right.

Brooklyn’s next game is Wednesday as they host the Golden State Warriors.

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Willie Mack III shoots 66 at Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School, one step closer to PGA Tour

“My dream is to win three times and go right to the PGA Tour.”

Willie Mack III is one step closer to his dream of playing regularly on the PGA Tour.

The 34-year-old APGA Tour Player of the Year and mini-tour legend made an eagle and three birdies in his first seven holes of the final round of Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School to guarantee starts in the first eight events this season.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said speaking on Sirius/XM PGA Tour Radio’s “Hitting the Green with Sobel and the Caddie.”

Mack, who started the day T-41 and already had secured conditional status by advancing through the second stage of Q-School for the first, needed to go low on Monday as Nos. 11-40 (and ties) lock-up starts in the first eight events while Nos. 41 and above likely will get some starts depending on one’s final number.

Mack charged out of the gate hot and parred in the final 11 holes at The Marshwood Course to shoot 5-under 66 and a 72-hole total of 7-under 277 at The Landings in Savannah, Georgia.

There are currently just three Black golfers on the PGA Tour: Tiger Woods, Cameron Champ and Joseph Bramlett.

Mack, who played at Bethune-Cookman, a historically Black college in Daytona Beach, Florida, has played in six career PGA Tour events on sponsorship exemptions and made four previous Korn Ferry Tour starts (with one made cut, a T-62 at the 2021 BMW Charity Pro-Am).

Along the way, the family’s house twice went into foreclosure (although they never lost it) and Mack resorted to sleeping in his car for a year and a half to save money. Photos of his car on fire on Interstate 95 went viral and while he saved his clubs, he lost the rest of his belongings.

“I know all the sacrifices my dad and my mom made for me,” he said. “I knew I didn’t want to give up for them so I just kept going and I’m glad it worked out.”

“The journey has been long but worth it,” Mack’s father, Willie Jr., wrote on Facebook. “Son, you never gave up and pressed forward. You reached your goal (and) now you have new goals to achieve.”

On August 2, 2018, the PGA Tour invited eight members of the APGA Tour, including Mack to TPC Sawgrass and a visit to the PGA Tour Academy, where director of golf Todd Anderson, whose pupils have included Billy Horschel and Brandt Snedeker, held court. That experience changed the course of Mack’s professional career.

“(Anderson) said I have the game to play on the Tour,” Mack recalled. “He said I hit the ball just like them. That meant everything to me.”

Mack gives the APGA Tour credit for helping his progression as a player, and knows his success will rub off on future players.

“Just me being able to get out there and play well I think that gives them a lot of confidence to do the same in the near future,” he said.

Eight starts is a start for Mack but the journey has a long way to go – he knows that a shortcut is to win three times next season and earn a “Battlefield Promotion” to the big leagues or finish in the top 30 and be awarded a PGA Tour card for 2024.

“My dream is to win three times and go right to the PGA Tour,” he said. “That’s my goal and if not, for sure, get into the top 30 on the money list and get on the PGA Tour.”

He’s one step closer to making that a reality.

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