Top high school football recruit chooses Tennessee live on Channel 9

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina's top recruit announced live on Channel 9 where he'll play football in college.

Quavaris Crouch, one of the most talked about recruits to come out of Mecklenburg County in years, announced he will play football at Tennessee.

The Harding High running back/linebacker is ranked as the No. 2 athlete in the nation.

Crouch selected Tennessee over Michigan and Clemson.

Crouch had battled injuries this past football season, but that didn’t slow him down.

Big 22 profile Quavaris Crouch, Harding

“I grew up a little different from other kids,” Crouch said. “I had to be tough from a young age.”

That toughness paid off in neighborhood football games.

“I always wanted to hit people and get tackled and then, that’s how it really kind of started,” Crouch said.

Crouch hasn't shied away from contact since then. He developed into the top running back recruit in the country, and he is possibly the best player ever to come out of Mecklenburg County. His path hasn't been easy.

“I (have) seen a lot,” Crouch said. “I (have) seen somebody get shot right here.”

Negative influences surrounded Crouch growing up on Cherrywood Lane in southwest Charlotte.

“I always had friends that would smoke or drink, stuff like that, and I just never did it,” Crouch said. “Football kept me out of it.”

He was always one bad decision away from going down the wrong path.

“(It’s) easy to get in trouble then it’s hard to get out of it,” Crouch said. “I just think back, like, 'Wow, maybe I made some good decisions.'”

Crouch isn't just a success story, he wants to be a blueprint for other kids in the neighborhood.

“Is a kid the product of their environment?” Crouch said. “I don't think so, because everybody got a choice. I just want to show people it don't matter where you come from, you can still be successful if you've got the right mindset and the will to be successful.”

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