From the article, "How did this happen? The amazing rise of the Kent State football program"
When Lewis was an assistant coach at Bowling Green, one of the high school quarterbacks he scouted was Midview’s Dustin Crum, a two-time Mr. Ohio Football finalist. He was a first-team All-Ohio Division II QB. He shattered records at Midview and in Lorain County.
“And we gave another quarterback the scholarship,” said Lewis, laughing now.
Only a single Division I program offered the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Crum a scholarship – Kent State and former coach Paul Haynes. When Lewis took the KSU job, one of the players on the roster was Crum, a freshman already passed over by Lewis.
“Then I did it again,” said Lewis.
Instead of starting Crum in 2018, Lewis went with Woody Barrett, a junior college player who had begun his college career at Auburn.
“Most kids would have been on a jet plane to the transfer portal,” said Lewis. “But not Dustin. We talked about why he wasn’t starting. I told him what he needed to work on. Rather than leave, he stayed. He went to work.”
As the 2019 season approached, Crum was entering his third year at Kent. He had been a backup in 2017, the final season for Haynes. Then he was No. 3 on the depth chart in 2018 under Lewis.
Crum believed he was good enough to start, if only Lewis would give him a chance. He came off the bench in a loss to Arizona State. He didn’t play very well in the 30-7 loss. But Lewis decided to hand the keys to the high-powered offense to Crum.
Then something happened.
Kent State took off. Crum was made for the offense with his ability to run and throw. More importantly, he was an honor student in aerospace and had a quick mind.
The Flashes finished the 2019 season 7-6 (5-3 in the MAC). They went to the Tropical Smoothie Café Bowl in Frisco, Texas and knocked off Utah State.
“Dustin stayed loyal to Kent,” said Lewis. “Without him, we would not be having this conversation.”
Note: Regardless of what happens tomorrow, it will be interesting to see how effective the FlashFast offense will be next year without Dustin Crum.
Sean Lewis and Dustin Crum have used a fast-tempo offense to take the Flashes into a MAC East showdown with Miami on Saturday afternoon.
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