Justin Crooks Selected Singletary Award Winner
5/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
May 13, 2005
The Baylor Chamber of Commerce has selected senior linebacker Justin Crooks as the recipient of the Mike Singletary Award for the 2004 football season.
Baylor's 2004 defensive team MVP was a second-team All-Big 12 honoree (Associated Press, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, San Antonio Express-News, Austin American-Statesman, Waco Tribune-Herald, Kansas City Star) after recording 87 tackles, including 60 solos, in his final season. Crooks' 7.9 tackles per game ranked sixth in the Big 12 Conference, while he was third in the Big 12 and 26th nationally with 16 tackles for loss. A four-year letterman who started the final 24 games of his career and recorded four or more tackles in each of his last 22 outings, Crooks' 33.5 tackles for loss rank fourth on the school's all-time list.
Singletary played football for Baylor 1977 to 1980, and was a two-time All-American. The Southwest Conference's Defensive Player of the Decade for the 1980s, he went on to a standout NFL career with the NFL's Chicago Bears and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Singletary is also a member of both the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. As he brought skill and power to the position of linebacker, Singletary also brought dedication and excellence to the classroom.
To honor Singletary's legacy, the Baylor Chamber of Commerce established the Mike Singletary Award in 1980. The award was to be "given by the student body to the senior player who has brought honor and recognition to Baylor through his actions both on and off the field." The award was first given to Walter Abercrombie in 1981.
"I would have to say that having my name on something alongside players like Mike Singletary, Walter Abercrombie, James Francis, Santana Dotson and Thomas Everett presents the biggest honor that I have received since playing at Baylor. My peers elected me to win this award, and they are the people that I played for, so that is very humbling as well. Playing college football was the most awesome experience I have ever had, but playing for Baylor University was even more so," said Crooks.
This is the first time the award has been presented since 2000. The Baylor student body voted online through the Baylor Information Network from April 25 to April 27. All senior football players were eligible and listed on the ballot.
