‘Big Blue’ deal being drafted for new Mr. Irrelevant Tae Crowder

The world as Tae Crowder knows it is about to get a lot bigger.

Bigger and bluer, that is.

The New York Giants selected Crowder with the 255th and final pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, making him the 45th member of the Mr. Irrelevant fraternity.

“It’s a blessing,” Crowder said of having his name called in the draft. “It still feels surreal. Everybody means a lot to me, everybody in my community. I come from a small town, so this is crazy for me right now.”

Crowder, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound inside linebacker, finished second on the Bulldogs with 62 total tackles as a senior this past season. Additionally, Crowder was one of 12 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker.

He played in a New Year’s Six bowl game for the third consecutive year. Georgia beat Baylor 26-14 in the Sugar Bowl this year.

Growing up in the small town of Pine Mountain, Ga., which has a population of about 1,400, Crowder has never been to New York. He has only been to California for the Rose Bowl, which Georgia won 54-48 over a Baker Mayfield-led Oklahoma team in double overtime in 2018.

The Giants, nicknamed “Big Blue,” had not made the last selection in the draft since taking fullback John Tuggle out of Cal in 1983.

Crowder said a couple of his former college teammates are already on the Giants in outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter and cornerback DeAndre Baker.

Paul Salata, a former NFL wide receiver who played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Colts, came up with the idea of Mr. Irrelevant. For 45 years, Irrelevant Week has celebrated the underdog and is a reminder that it is an honor to be chosen in the draft, no matter when.

Undoubtedly, Crowder fits the bill. He came to the University of Georgia from Hamilton (Ga.) Harris County High as a running back, but by the time he reached his redshirt sophomore season, he had to make a position change.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to keep playing ball,” Crowder said of the mental challenge. “I didn’t know if I wanted to transfer or what. It was a lot of different, mixed emotions. My whole career was just crazy. It’s been a crazy process, but it was a blessing, at the end of the day.”

Crowder may have defied the odds already by successfully making a position change that put him on the radar of the NFL.

“I feel like I’m home now,” Crowder said of playing linebacker. “I feel like I found my spot, and it’s something that I’ve still got to get used to, but it’s something that can only get better as things keep going.”

Crowder had shown that he had versatility early on. He played three sports growing up. He was a guard in basketball, which he played through high school. He also pitched and manned center field while playing baseball in his youth.

The three-day draft ended as it began, with another SEC player coming off the board. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow went No. 1 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I feel like the SEC is the best conference,” Crowder added. “It’s great competition. Everybody comes to work each week, and everybody wants to win their division. [The] SEC is the best.”

The Irrelevant Week folks make an effort to arrange a meeting for Mr. Irrelevant with his favorite celebrity. Put on the spot, Crowder thought of an athletic idol based in Southern California he would enjoy meeting.

“I would like to [hear] some wisdom words from LeBron James,” Crowder said. “I feel like he’s one of the greatest athletes in the world.”

The timing of the annual Irrelevant Week festivities is yet to be determined due to the coronavirus pandemic.

::

Support our sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.

For more sports stories, visit latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/sports or follow us on Twitter @DailyPilotSport.