The Eccker 10 – Daveion Crawford

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Daveion Crawford’s division 1 dreams were always worth working for. From growing up in Houston to Junior College in Iowa, Daveion’s work ethic and faith in himself and God allowed him to find himself at TCU playing division 1 football. It was almost perfect, but he was still missing a scholarship.

In a time where walk-ons are often underappreciated, Daveion found ways to separate himself from the pack. On the field, he spent hours preparing himself by watching film and honing his mental and physical skills so that he would make the most of his opportunity. Off the field, he started talking about his faith on social media. This small social media account grew, and his hard work on the field paid off as he now boasts 300K followers on Tik Tok, and a football scholarship to TCU. Eccker Sports was lucky to speak with Daveion on how important his humility is, how he approaches NIL, and how his faith helped him find his not so hidden talent of public speaking.

10 Questions

Tyler: What is your greatest memory as an athlete?

Daveion: I’d have to say my most recent memory, which was beating Michigan in the playoffs. It was a very surreal moment because everybody counted us out. Everyone was picking Michigan to win and we came out there and proved them wrong…well, we really proved ourselves right. I don’t like saying that we proved them wrong. We proved ourselves right.

Tyler: What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an athlete and how were you able to work past it?

Daveion: I’d say coming into TCU as a walk-on. It’s not a bad thing, it’s all about how you view yourself and I never viewed myself as a walk-on. I always knew I could be on scholarship but coming in with the old staff, which was old school, was tough. I could handle it but you felt kind of overlooked as a walk-on. When Coach Dykes came in, it changed the whole culture. I’m pretty sure he used to be a walk-on, and the great thing about TCU is that they have walk-on scrimmages so you can prove yourself. By the end of the year, they decide who gets a scholarship, and they’ll give one to a couple of guys who balled out the whole year. That’s one thing I’d say I definitely overcame. I never viewed myself as a walk-on and now that I’ve put in all this work on the scout team guarding guys like Quentin Johnston, Tee Davis, and Tay Barber, I’ve gotten much better and was put on scholarship this year. We’re definitely blessed.

Tyler: Do you have any unique or hidden talents?

Daveion: I wouldn’t really say it’s hidden anymore, but I’ve got a huge following on Tik Tok where I pray the gospel and talk about God. I’ve got almost 300K followers on there. I’ve found my voice and have been able to speak to people, tell them about God, and try to change one life at a time.

I was in Junior College in Iowa and things were a little rough. I had a really bad breakup around 2020, and I got close to God and have remained close ever since. I got involved in FCA at TCU, and they’ve been asking me to go speak to high schools, so I went and spoke to my old junior high as well as at a university near here. It’s been cool to find that I’m talented at public speaking.

Tyler: What was your first NIL deal?

Daveion: My first NIL deal came from a startup called NILVillage. I was able to start gaining traction from there off my name and TikTok, and I started getting a ton of DM’s and having people ask me to go on their podcast or go promote their brand/app.

Tyler: How has NIL impacted your experience as an athlete?

Daveion: It has its pros and cons for sure. It can really help players from a financial standpoint which is great. Some people might get too cocky or bigheaded, though, and start treating people differently. You can tell some guys were raised right and they try to help other teammates get deals or get them involved in NIL things that they’re doing.

I’m a very God-based person and there’s a bible verse that says “the first will be last and the last will be first”, so I stay humble because my Grandmother always taught me that God blessed me with something but he can always take it away. I make sure not to let NIL impact who I am.

Tyler: How do you determine which brands to partner with?

Daveion: I’m different. A lot of people like to go after big brands but I like to partner with smaller companies so I can be one of the first people to take a chance on a company that ends up blowing up. I like helping small companies out for sure.

The big companies are cool but those deals come with a lot of guidelines and restrictions so you have to really read into things before you take a deal. It’s really good to have someone in your corner who can help you go over everything because you can get blindsided by things when you sign an NIL deal. You could sign a deal and then be stuck in it forever, so that’s why TCU’s compliance might take a while to get back to you before they approve a deal because you have to disclose it and go through a whole process.

Tyler: How do you educate yourself on NIL?

Daveion: My uncle is really helpful. He and his friend are really into my college life and they want me to be financially stable when I leave college, so they inform me and tell me what to look for before I accept anything. They’ll help me think through a deal before submitting it to TCU, so I’ll generally let him know before I do a deal and he’ll put in a lot of work to make sure it’s all good to submit to the school.

Tyler: How has education played a role in your NIL experience?

Daveion: TCU always has great speakers that come and talk to us. We also have a required class on NIL, and the professor explains the NIL experience really well and tells us not to take a deal for the money because the money might seem right but the deal itself might not be a good fit for you and the deal could hurt your image. You want to really make sure not to just jump on the biggest money deal that you get offered.

Tyler: If you could change one thing about NIL and how it’s worked so far, what would it be?

Daveion: I think people need to be upfront and honest with deals. People who are making these deals have to be upfront about everything because NIL can make or break a person’s career. It can be detrimental to an athlete’s career if a deal goes and that can be devastating to an athlete’s career and mental health if something like that happens.

I also think brands want to promote big names, which I get, but I want them to actually go to schools and do their research on everyone on the roster. There are so many good kids and hidden gems that maybe not everyone knows about but who have a good name in the community, or someone like me who has a big Tik Tok following who would be great for companies to work with. They should look beyond those top players.

Tyler: What piece of advice would you give to high school athletes as they start their NIL journeys?

Daveion: Don’t just look at the dollar amount. Actually do your research and have someone who understands NIL look into the deal for you. Don’t sign based on money, do your research because you could get into a bad situation even before you get to college. Also, make sure to really think about and pray on deals before you do it. Before you sign something make sure you’re positive you want to do it.