Timothy C. Crowder (born June 30, 1985) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

and was selected by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

in the second round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

. Crowder also played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Early life

Crowder attended

John Tyler High School Tyler High School, formerly known as John Tyler High School, is a public co-educational secondary school in Tyler, Texas. It is part of the Tyler Independent School District. It serves grades 9 through 12. About Tyler High School was named af ...

and was coached by Kelvin Ratliff. He primarily played defensive end and posted 127

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, 22 tackles for loss (TFLs) and 14 sacks in his final two seasons.

College career

Crowder played

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

for the Longhorns. As a freshman, he played in all 13 games and started 9 at left defensive end. For the season, he recorded 35 tackles, 3 TFLs, one sack, one

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

, 14 pressures, five passes deflected and two forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s. Following the season, he was named third-team Freshman

All America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by the ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' and shared UT's Outstanding Newcomer of the Year award. As a sophomore, he started all 12 games at left defensive end. For the season, he recorded 47 tackles, 10 TFLs, one forced fumble, 4.5 sacks, and 22 quarterback pressures. He was named honorable mention All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. As a junior in 2005, he started all 13 games at left defensive end. He led the team with 20 QB pressures, while recording 50 tackles, nine TFLs, three sacks, an interception and, a forced fumble. He was a first-team All-Big 12 selection by the league's coaches, a second-team All-Big 12 selection by ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'', an honorable mention All-Big 12 pick by the Associated Press, and a member of the

Ted Hendricks Award The Ted Hendricks Award is given annually to college football's top defensive end. The award is named after Ted Hendricks, a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is presented by his own foundation. I ...

watch list.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Crowder was selected in the second round (56th overall) of the

by the

. He was the second

selected by the club in that draft, and the second player to come from a recent BCS Championship team. On October 21, 2007, against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

on Sunday Night Football, Crowder returned a recovered fumble 50 yards for his first and only career touchdown after

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

was strip sacked by

Elvis Dumervil Elvis Kool Dumervil (born January 19, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, ...

, as Denver would go on to win 31–28. He finished his rookie year starting 13 games, 16 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 4.0 sacks. He was waived by the Broncos on September 5, 2009.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Crowder was signed by the

on September 14, 2009. He was released on March 22, 2012.Buccaneers sign OT Meredith, cut DEs Crowder, Reed

NFL career statistics

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowder, Tim 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Tyler, Texas American football defensive ends Texas Longhorns football players Denver Broncos players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players