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Marcus Crandell

{{Short description|American gridiron football player and coach (born 1974)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Marcus Crandell

| image =

| caption =

| number = 8

| position = Quarterback

| current_team =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|1|6}}

| birth_place = Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 11

| weight_lbs = 205

| high_school = Roanoke
(Robersonville, North Carolina)

| college = East Carolina (1993–1996)

| undraftedyear = 1997

| pastteams =

| pastcoaching =

| highlights =

| statleague = CFL

| statlabel1 = TD-INT

| statvalue1 = 86–88

| statlabel2 = Passing yards

| statvalue2 = 17,227

}}

Marcus Cornelius Crandell (born January 6, 1974) is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback and coach. He was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Saskatchewan Huskies of the University of Saskatchewan. He played 11 seasons for the Edmonton Eskimos, Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1997 to 2008 while also spending time in NFL Europe and the XFL. Crandell was named the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player after the Stampeders won the 89th Grey Cup in 2001. He also won a Grey Cup championship with the Roughriders in 2007 as the team's backup quarterback.

Early life

Crandell played high school football at Roanoke High School, located in Robersonville, NC. He went on to play college football at East Carolina University, where he established more than 30 passing and offensive records. He was a candidate for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 1996. He led the Pirates to two post-season bowl appearances, including a 19-13 victory over Stanford in the 1995 Liberty Bowl.

  • 1994: 230/401 for 2,687 yards with 21 TD vs. 15 INT. Also ran for 96 yards with 1 TD.[http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ecu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/06-mg-records141-168.pdf Records - East Carolina Panthers]
  • 1995: 235/447 for 2,751 yards with 18 TD vs. 12 INT. Also ran for 201 yards with 6 TD.
  • 1996: 136/245 for 1,507 yards with 16 TD vs. 10 INT. Also ran for 109 yards.

Professional career

= Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) =

On May 2, 1997, Crandell signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Eskimos. He dressed in 4 regular season games that season.

In 1998, Crandell dressed in all 18 regular season games, the West Semi-Final, and the West Final.

In 1999, Crandell dressed in 13 regular season games. He started two games, one against Hamilton on August 27, and the other against Montreal on October 23. Crandell was 0-2 as a starter that season. He also dressed in the West Semi-Final loss to Calgary. He relieved starting quarterback Nealon Greene and threw 14 passes and 1 touchdown.

In February 2000, Crandell was granted free agency status.

= NFL and NFL Europe =

In February 2000, Crandell signed a two-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL. The Chiefs assigned Crandell to the Scottish Claymores in NFL Europe. He played with the Claymores in 2000. Crandell was released by the Chiefs in July 2000.

It was announced that the Green Bay Packers signed Crandell on August 2, 2000 and released him on August 29.

= Memphis Maniax (XFL) =

In the 2001 XFL Draft, Crandell was selected in the first round, third overall by the Memphis Maniax. He played with the Maniax in 2001, the XFL's first and only season.

= Calgary Stampeders (CFL) =

On May 31, 2001, Crandell signed as a free agent with the Calgary Stampeders. He helped the Stampeders finish second place in the West Division. Crandell quarterbacked the Stampeders to victories in the West Semi-Final and West Final. In the Grey Cup, Crandell led Calgary to victory over the favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and was named Grey Cup MVP.

He spent a total of four seasons with Calgary, but was never able to duplicate his success from the 2001 playoffs.

= Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL) =

In March 2005, Crandell signed as a free agent with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He started the season as backup to Nealon Greene, a former teammate in Edmonton in 1999. Crandell relieved Greene in game 6 against Ottawa, game 7 against Montreal, and game 8 against Ottawa. In game 10, the Labour Day Classic against Winnipeg, Crandell got his first start as a Roughrider. The Roughriders won 45-26. Including this game, Crandell won his first five starts. However, he would lose his next three starts, and Greene would start the final game of the regular season in BC. Saskatchewan qualified for the East Semi-Final via the crossover. Crandell started the game against Montreal, but the Roughriders lost 30-14.

In 2006, the Roughriders acquired Kerry Joseph after the Ottawa Renegades ceased operations. Crandell started the season as his backup, but started against Hamilton in game 9 when Joseph was out with injury. Unfortunately, Crandell got injured early in the game, and was replaced by Rocky Butler. The Roughriders won 46-15. Crandell started the last game of the regular season in Edmonton, which Saskatchewan lost 20-18.

In 2007, Crandell was once again the backup to Joseph. Crandell started game 17 against Edmonton, which the Roughriders won 36-29 in overtime. Joseph won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. The Roughriders won the 2007 Grey Cup, Crandell's second Grey Cup win.

In 2008, Joseph was traded to the Toronto Argonauts. Crandell started the season as the starting quarterback for the Roughriders, but suffered an injury in game 2 against BC. Crandell was 3-2 as the Roughrider starting quarterback, with wins against Edmonton, BC, and Calgary, and losses against Calgary and Edmonton. Following the Edmonton loss in August, the Roughriders were 6-2. However, they acquired Michael Bishop from Toronto, which prompted the Roughriders to release Crandell.

=CFL career statistics=

{{Main|List of Edmonton Elks starting quarterbacks|List of Calgary Stampeders starting quarterbacks|List of Saskatchewan Roughriders starting quarterbacks}} As of 2025, the CFL lists Crandall with 64 games started at quarterback position. Previous CFL lists have a total of 67 games started (Calgary 48, Saskatchewan 16, Edmonton 3). The official 2025 CFL guide has Randall's starting quarterback record as 25–39.{{cite web|title=2025 CFL Guide|url=https://static.cfl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025-CFL-Guide-Final.pdf|website=Cfl.ca|date=June 10, 2025}}

==Regular season==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Team

! colspan="3"| Games

! colspan="8"| Passing

! colspan="4"| Rushing

{{abbr|GD|Games dressed}}{{abbr|GS|Games started}}Record{{abbr|Cmp|Passes completed}}{{abbr|Att|Passes attempted}}{{abbr|Pct|Completion percentage}}{{abbr|Yds|Passing yards}}{{abbr|Y/A|Yards per passing attempt}}{{abbr|TD|Passing touchdowns}}{{abbr|Int|Interceptions}}{{abbr|Rtg|Passer rating}}{{abbr|Att|Rushing attempts}}{{abbr|Yds|Rushing yards}}{{abbr|Avg|Yards per rushing attempt}}{{abbr|TD|Rushing touchdowns}}
1997EDM

| 4 || 0 || — || 5 || 13 || 38.5 || 71 || 5.5 || 1 || 1 || 50.5 || 2 || 18 || 9.0 || 0

1998EDM

| 18 || 0 || — || 4 || 9 || 44.4 || 100 || 11.1 || 1 || 2 || 82.9 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0

1999EDM

| 13 || 2 ||0–2 || 59 || 112 || 52.7 || 767 || 6.8 || 3 || 5 || 64.8 || 17 || 75 || 4.4 || 1

2001CAL

| 15 || 12 || 6–6|| 239 || 386 || 61.9 || 3,407 || 8.8 || 14 || 11 || 90.7 || 58 || 295 || 5.1 || 7

2002CAL

| 18 || 16

| 5–11|| 268 || 516 || 51.9 || 4,072 || 7.9 || 26 || 20 || 78.9 || 80 || 503 || 6.3 || 2

2003CAL

| 15 || 9

| 3–6|| 147 || 291 || 50.5 || 2,019 || 6.9 || 10 || 13 || 65.9 || 17 ||57 || 3.4 || 0

2004CAL

| 14 || 9

|2–7|| 211 || 372 || 56.7 || 2,389 || 6.4 || 7 || 16 || 64.5 || 20 || 72 || 3.6 || 3

2005SSK

| 18 || 8 || 5–3 || 200 || 351 || 57.0 || 2,295 || 6.5 || 12 || 11 || 75.1 || 39 || 160 || 4.1 || 5

2006SSK

| 12 || 2

|1–1|| 19 || 30 || 63.3 || 201 || 6.7 || 0 || 1 || 68.9 || 6 || 22 || 3.7 || 2

2007SSK

| 18 || 1

|1–0|| 78 || 131 || 59.5 || 982 || 7.5 || 5 || 5 || 79.8 || 10 || 47 || 4.7 || 0

2008SSK

| 8 || 5

|3–2|| 67 || 128 || 52.3 || 924 || 7.2 || 7 || 3 || 84.2 || 7 || 54 || 7.7 || 0

colspan="2"| [https://www.statscrew.com/football/stats/p-crandmar001 Career]1536426–381,2972,33855.517,2277.4868875.62561,3035.120

== Playoffs ==

class="wikitable"

!YEAR & GAME

!TEAM

!GP

!GS

!ATT

!COMP

!YD

!TD

!INT

!

!RUSH

!YD

!TD

1997 West Final

|EDM

|0

| -

| -

| -

| -

| -

| -

|

| -

| -

| -

1998 West Semi-Final

|EDM

|1

|0

|0

| -

| -

| -

| -

|

|0

| -

| -

1998 West Final

|EDM

|1

|0

|0

| -

| -

| -

| -

|

|0

| -

| -

1999 West Semi-Final

|EDM

|1

|0

|14

|10

|137

|1

|1

|

|0

| -

| -

2001 West Semi-Final

|CGY

|1

|1

|29

|19

|236

|3

|0

|

|1

|2

|0

2001 West Final

|CGY

|1

|1

|28

|21

|323

|4

|0

|

|6

|37

|0

2005 *East Semi-Final

|SSK

|1

|1

|48

|33

|306

|2

|3

|

|7

|18

|0

2006 West Semi-Final

|SSK

|1

|0

|0

| -

| -

| -

| -

|

|0

| -

| -

2006 West Final

|SSK

|1

|0

|0

| -

| -

| -

| -

|

|0

| -

| -

2007 West Semi-Final

|SSK

|1

|0

|0

| -

| -

| -

| -

|

|0

| -

| -

2007 West Final

|SSK

|1

|0

|0

| -

| -

| -

| -

|

|0

| -

| -

colspan="2" |Totals

!10

!3

!119

!83

!1,002

!10

!4

!

!14

!57

!0

*team qualified for crossover

== Grey Cup ==

class="wikitable"

!Year

!TEAM

!GP

!GS

!ATT

!COMP

!YD

!TD

!INT

!

!RUSH

!YD

!TD

2001

|CGY

|1

|1

|35

|18

|309

|2

|0

|

|5

|22

|0

2007

|SSK

|1

|0

|0

| -

| -

| -

| -

|

|0

| -

| -

colspan="2" |Totals

!2

!1

!35

!18

!309

!2

!0

!

!5

!22

!0

Coaching career

Crandell was hired by the Roughriders as an offensive assistant on July 7, 2009.{{cite news|url=https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=283987|title=Crandell joins Roughriders coaching staff|work=The Sports Network|publisher=TSN.ca|access-date=2009-07-07}}

In 2011, he became the Offensive Coordinator of the Edmonton Eskimos. He was demoted to quarterbacks coach midway through the 2012 season and did not return to the Eskimos coaching staff in 2013.{{Cite web |date=2013-02-11 |title=Esks announce 2013 coaching staff |url=https://www.goelks.com/2013/02/11/esks-announce-2013-coaching-staff/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Edmonton Elks |language=en}}

For the 2014 season, Crandell joined the expansion Ottawa Redblacks as their quarterbacks coach. He became the offensive coordinator of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in 2017.{{cite web | url=https://thestarphoenix.com/sports/local-sports/u-of-s-huskies/crandell-joins-huskies-as-team-re-makes-coaching-staff | title=Crandell joins Huskies as team re-makes coaching staff | publisher=thestarphoenix.com | date=May 1, 2017 | access-date=July 18, 2017 | author=Healy, don}}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{East Carolina Pirates quarterback navbox}}

{{Edmonton Elks starting quarterback navbox}}

{{StampedersQuarterback}}

{{RoughridersQB}}

{{89th Grey Cup}}

{{95th Grey Cup}}

{{Grey Cup Most Valuable Player}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crandell, Marcus}}

Category:1974 births

Category:Living people

Category:American football quarterbacks

Category:Players of Canadian football from North Carolina

Category:Calgary Stampeders players

Category:Canadian football quarterbacks

Category:East Carolina Pirates football players

Category:Edmonton Elks coaches

Category:Edmonton Elks players

Category:Memphis Maniax players

Category:Sportspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina

Category:Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches

Category:Saskatchewan Roughriders players

Category:Scottish Claymores players

Category:Ottawa Redblacks coaches

Category:Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina

Category:Saskatchewan Huskies football coaches

Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen

Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen

Category:20th-century American sportsmen