El Camino’s Aaron Craver Gains Ground at Running Back

It’s taken two entire seasons, but Aaron Craver is finally starting to feel like a running back. The 19-year old sophomore had never played the position before coming to El Camino, which will face Saddleback in the Pony Bowl on Dec. 3 at Orange Coast College.

At Compton High he played defensive back on the junior varsity team his freshman year and ran track the other three years because football coaches told him he was too small.

He was a trim 5-foot-5, which hurt him in football but didn’t seem to hamper his track performance. Craver was the Moore League champ in the 300-meter hurdles his junior and senior years, and he anchored the 400-meter and mile relay teams that placed second in conference.

“I really wanted to play football,” Craver said. “But all the other guys were a lot bigger than I was. When I graduated from high school I was only 5-foot-9 and I was pretty thin.”

Things have changed. Craver has grown three inches and gained 50 pounds since then.

“I told him when he left,” said Compton High track Coach Curtiss Seymore, “that he can play any sport he wants. He’s just very gifted. Aaron is just a natural athlete.”

Not only is Craver bigger and stronger (6-foot, 210 pounds), he’s been a crucial part of El Camino’s (7-1-1, 8-1-1) balanced offense, which Coach John Featherstone says has the best supply of running backs in the school’s history.

“Aaron Craver,” Featherstone said, “is the strongest man on our football team and the fastest. In the spring he ran the 40 (yards) in 4.4 seconds. He was very raw and very green when he came here, but he’s worked hard and with great acceleration. Every time he takes the ball he thinks end zone.”

This has been a year of outstanding performances for Craver and his team, which ended Mission Conference play undefeated in the northern division.

“It was about three or four games ago,” said El Camino running back Brian Connors, “that he (Craver) started running really hard. He wouldn’t take hits, he would give them. He has all the tools to be a great back, and he doesn’t get real banged up or hurt.”

Craver who leads the Warriors in rushing (733 yards) and all-purpose running (1,284 yards), earned the Community College player of the week title for his performance against Pasadena.

Against the Lancers he returned three kickoffs for 141 yards, including a 96-yard touchdown return. He also carried the ball 6 times for 56 yards and 2 touchdowns.

That’s when people started noticing the former defensive back at his new position. The following week against Mt. San Antonio he carried the ball 22 times for 116 yards, and against Long Beach he had two touchdowns in the second half.

In El Camino’s 35-0 shutout of San Diego Mesa, Craver had 71 yards on 18 carries and 1 touchdown. And in last week’s regular season finale against Cerritos, he gained 101 yards on 15 carries.

“Last year I always just ran fast,” Craver said. I tried to outrun everybody and that just didn’t work. It wasn’t until about the sixth game of the season against Compton that I learned what being a running back really is.

“It was raining and in the mud you can’t run full speed and cut. So I had to slow down and do the plays.”

El Camino backfield coach Fred Peterson says Craver is the strongest and one of the most talented running backs the school has ever had.

“He just has tremendous talent,” Peterson said. “A year ago we were hurting for running backs, and after watching Aaron run and catch it was a very easy decision. This year he’s just the head of the class in his own league.”

Not bad, considering Craver originally came to El Camino to play baseball in the spring of 1987. But he fractured his ankle while running to catch a bus and was out for the entire baseball season.

Craver decided to play football in the fall because he didn’t want to just “sit around and do nothing.”

That’s when he approached Featherstone, who informed him that the team had plenty of defensive backs but was in desperate need of running backs.

Craver conformed, but he struggled all season despite his determination to prove himself as a capable running back.

In his first game against Glendale he had minus 15 yards and lost his starting position. Then an ankle injury put him out for three weeks.

Now he has Pac-10 and Big 10 schools interested in him. Featherstone has received letters inquiring about Craver from Nebraska, Southern Methodist and Washington State, among others.

“I feel a lot more confident now,” Craver said while adjusting his jersey. “I know I’m still learning things about being a running back, but I think two weeks ago I really started feeling like I was a running back. Now I just have to master the fine points.”