Croyle learns lessons at a school of hard knocks

Quarterback Brodie Croyle of the Alabama Crimson Tide scores against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, on Sept. 17. Croyle attributes his maturity to having worked at his older brother's orphanage. PHOTO: AFP

To understand how Alabama (6-0) is ranked fifth in the country, it helps to stop in among the cedars and loblolly pines of North Alabama, at a place where wayward parents drop off their children with no intention of coming back to get them, and where tales of neglect are as plentiful as field larks. That place is the Big Oak Ranch, an orphanage for boys.

Founded by the former Alabama defensive end John Croyle back in 1974, it is a place where horses graze, where a chicken house needs tending and where hogs clamor for slop. It is also where Brodie Croyle, Alabama's senior quarterback, grew up, developed a work ethic and learned some bigger lessons about life that he credits with helping him through five chaotic, sometimes surreal years in Tuscaloosa.

"Growing up there made me anything and everything I am today," Croyle said recently. "The kids who came into the ranch, you could see the hatred in their eyes. And to see them change and become good people and really love life, and realize bad things are going to happen but you can overlook them -- I wouldn't trade that for the world."

Croyle is finally on his way to fulfilling his substantial promise at Alabama, after years of setbacks -- injuries and operations, NCAA sanctions and coaching scandals. To get through it, much less to succeed, Croyle has needed mental toughness bordering on stoicism, as well as a deep attachment to the university. His father, John, who played under Bear Bryant and has rickety knees and pinky fingers frozen at right angles to show for it, recalled an evening years ago when Brodie came home scratched and bleeding from head to toe.

"I asked him, `What happened?'" John Croyle said. "And he said, `I was playing with the big boys and they threw me in the briars.' I asked, `Who was it?' and Brodie said, `It don't matter.'"

perspective

John Croyle added, "Growing up here teaches you to be loyal, to make friends." Along the way, he said, his son saw firsthand the heartache and difficulties of an ethnically diverse group of boys ages 6 to 18 that have helped Brodie keep football in perspective.

"We've had some kids who have done great, and some kids who haven't done great," John Croyle said. "He knows what it's like to carry a best friend's casket."

Brodie Croyle has been exceedingly loyal to Alabama, even if at times it seemed the football program was not returning the favor.

He was recruited by Mike Dubose, who was fired in the middle of a 3-8 season in 2000, less than a year after winning the Southeastern Conference Championship, and after he publicly admitted to having an affair with an athletic department employee. Croyle had privately committed to Florida State at the time, but reconsidered when the Seminoles' offensive coordinator, Mark Richt, left to coach at Georgia.

That gave an opening to Dennis Franchione, who only hours after his first news conference in Tuscaloosa, traveled to the Big Oak Ranch to meet Croyle, even though as a drop-back passer, Croyle seemed an odd fit for Franchione's option-oriented ground game. Franchione assured the Croyles that he would act as a father figure to their son, weighty words to a family that runs an orphanage. Soon after Alabama was sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for recruiting violations, Franchione left for Texas A&M without even notifying his players at Alabama.

"Things that were told to us by Coach Fran didn't happen," John Croyle said. "He's obviously not the man we thought he was."

Next came Mike Price, though not for long. Less than four months after arriving, Price was embroiled in an incident involving drinking and strip clubs on the Florida coast. Price was fired before coaching a game.

it's never easy

When Mike Shula was hired, Croyle had to learn his third offense in two years. Although Shula's offense would eventually come to suit Croyle's strength as a downfield passer, for most of that first season, he served as target practice for blitzing cornerbacks and linebackers. He separated his shoulder making a tackle after a fumble early in the season, and hobbled through his remaining games.

Croyle had his shoulder repaired during the off-season before his junior year. He looked flawless in his first three games of 2004. But his run of bad luck caught up to him when he rolled out in the second half during a blowout of Western Carolina and felt his anterior cruciate ligament slide off the bone in his knee. Through it all, Croyle said, his upbringing on the ranch helped him cope.

"At first I was upset," Croyle said. "I was like, man, what's next? But once I sat back and realized what I was saying, it all kind of hit me. What's an ACL injury? I come back in six months and I'm as good or better than normal. I grew up in a place where I've seen kids who were abused their whole lives -- just horror stories. It puts things in perspective."

Improbably, perhaps, Croyle has stayed healthy this season, and he has put up numbers that have earned him mentions for the Heisman Trophy. He has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,345 yards and 9 touchdowns. Croyle has also moved ahead of Andrew Zow as Alabama's career leader for touchdown passes.

Croyle's gifts as a passer have never been in doubt, but with his herky-jerky participation over the last three years, there was some skepticism that he would have the time to develop into a quarterback with an innate command of the field. One play earlier this season showed Croyle might have found that groove. It was not one of the more elegant throws in his repertoire, but an ugly heave into the ankles of receiver D.J. Hall, late in a tight game against Arkansas.

Croyle had called a handoff in the huddle, but as he approached the line, he noticed Hall was uncovered to his right. Croyle coolly looked left, as if he had seen nothing, called for a quick snap, and turned and flicked a game-sealing touchdown pass to the wide open Hall, as the Arkansas coaching staff engaged in a collective fit of turf stomping and headphones bashing. It was a play born of confidence and savvy, not just physical talent.

"I've told him I never want to play poker with him," said Dave Rader, the Alabama offensive coordinator, "He's immutable in the huddle. His demeanor never changes."