Ryan Crawford - Football Coach - Wake Forest University Athletics

Ryan Crawford

Title:
Assistant Special Teams Coordinator/Nickelbacks
Email:
crawforw@wfu.edu
Phone:
336-758-5780

Ryan Crawford enters his fourth season on the Wake Forest football staff after joining head coach Dave Clawson in February 2018. Crawford, who spent six seasons as the special teams coordinator and secondary coach at Harvard, serves as the assistant special teams coordinator and coaches Wake Forest’s rovers.

Crawford stepped into a new role in 2020 adding assistant special teams coach responsibilities as well as leading the backend of the Demon Deacons defense.

Under Crawford's tutelage, Wake Forest's rovers played an instrumental role in helping the Demon Deacons' defense finish this past season as one of seven FBS schools with a turnover margin of at least +10, the highest in the Dave Clawson era. AJ Williams (two) and Traveon Redd (one) also contributed to a defense that became one of five programs in the country to post back-to-back seasons with at least 13 interceptions. Redd finished the 2020 season with 46 tackles, the fourth-highest on the team, while Williams finished with 30 defensive stops, a career-high.

In his first year working with the special teams in 2020, Wake Forest scored their first kickoff return touchdown since 2003 while Donavan Greene finished the season with the fourth-highest kickoff return average in the nation at 34.0 yards per return.

Over the 2018 and 2019 seasons as the cornerbacks coach, Crawford has played an integral role in the development of Essang Bassey and Amari Henderson. The cornerback duo ended their Demon Deacon careers ranked second and third among active players in passes defended with Bassey finishing with 50 while Henderson defended 48 passes.

Prior to making the move to Winston-Salem, Crawford spent six seasons as the secondary coach at Harvard. During that time, the Crimson were regularly ranked inside of the top 10 in scoring defense and total defense in all of FCS. In his final four seasons in Beantown, he added special teams coordinator duties, helping Justice Shelton-Mosely led all of FCS with an average of 18.8 yard per return while also leading the FCS with a pair of touchdown returns in 2017.

Before moving to the Ivy League, Crawford had multi-year stops at Rhode Island, Bucknell and his alma mater Davidson. In his final season at Rhode Island, Crawford was promoted to defensive coordinator.

A 2001 graduate of Davidson, Crawford earned a bachelor’s degree in biology while playing defensive back and being named the school’s male athlete of the year in 2000. He led I-AA with eight interceptions his junior season en route to earning first team All-American honors. Also while at Davidson, he was named the I-AA Mid-Major Defensive Back of the Year as well as the I-AA Independent Defensive MVP. He was inducted into the Davison Hall of Fame in 2012.

After graduating from Davidson, Crawford played professionally with the Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

Crawford and his wife, Carrie, have a daughter Dylan and son Bryson.

Wake Forest (2018-Present)

In Crawford's first season coaching Wake Forest rovers in 2020, AJ Williams (two) and Traveon Redd (one) combined for a trio of interceptions. The duo helped the Demon Deacon's defense become one of five FBS schools to post 13 or more interceptions in consecutive seasons.
- The ballhawking defense was an immense factor in holding the highest turnover margin (+10) in the Dave Clawson era.
Wake Forest's special teams saw an uptick in production in 2020, led by Donavan Green's 34.0 yards per return average (fourth-best in the country) and their first kickoff return touchdown in 17 years.
Under Crawford’s tutelage, cornerback Essang Bassey earned third team All-ACC honors in the 2019 season and went on to be selected for 2020 Reese’s Senior Bowl. Bassey finished tied for 27th in the country in passes defended with 11 on the season. He finished his career with 50 passes defended, which ranked second among active players.
In all, six different defensive backs had an interception during the 2019 campaign accounting for 10 of the team’ 14 interceptions on the season. Amari Henderson led the team with four picks, which tied for 17th among all FBS players while also have 10 passes defended
- Henderson finished his career with 48 passes defended, which ranked third among all active FBS players. Henderson went on to be selected to play in the 2020 NFLPA Bowl.
In his first year with the Demon Deacons in 2018, Crawford worked with Bassey, who finished third in the ACC in passes defended, and Amari Henderson, who was seventh. Bassey was a second team All-ACC pick in 2018.
- Bassey finished the season tanking 18th in the nation in passes defended per game, averaging 1.2 pass break-ups per game.

Harvard (2012-17)

In his final season, Crawford helped the Crimson rank 34th in the FCS in total defense and 29th in scoring defense.
As the special teams coordinator in 2017, he helped Justice Shelton-Mosley become one of the deadliest returners in the FCS. He led the nation with a 18.8 punt return average while also returning a nation best two punt returns back for touchdowns. The Crimson’s punt return defense also ranked 23rd in FBS, allowing less than five yards per return.
During the 2015 season, the backend of the Crimson defense played a key role in Harvard ranking second in FCS in scoring defense, fifth in red zone defense and 23rd in total defense
The Crimson were the best defense in all of FCS in Crawford’s third season on campus. They led the country with 12.3 points allowed per game while ranking 11th in the country in passing efficiency defense and 12th in total defense.
Under the teaching of Crawford, Crimson defensive back D.J. Monroe led all of FCS with 18 passes defending in 2013 as Harvard finished 23rd in the country in scoring defense in 2013.
Crawford helped make an immediate impact on the Harvard defense in his first season. The Crimson ranked third in all of FCS in total defense, eighth in scoring defense while intercepting 11 passes

Rhode Island (2008-11)

Crawford was elevated to defensive coordinator for the 2011 season while continuing to coach the Rams secondary.
In his final season as the secondary coach, the URI secondary ranked sixth in the league in interceptions with 11. Four of those interceptions came from Jarrod Williams, who concluded his URI career in 2010 by earning a spot on the CAA Football All-League Third Team. Under the guidance of Crawford, Williams finished his URI career with nine interceptions which ranks ninth on the URI all-time career list.
During the 2009 season, Crawford's secondary unit accounted for 11 interceptions. In the first five games of that year, the Rhody secondary picked off seven passes, including a season-high three against in-state rival Brown.
In 2008, Crawford's secondary scheme picked off at least one pass in five of Rhody's first seven games. It also held Boston College to a season-low 27 yards passing (Sept. 27).

Bucknell (2005-07)

In 2007, the Bison tied NCAA-tournament participants Fordham and Colgate for the league lead with 14 interceptions and finished second in turnover margin (+2).
One year earlier, Crawford was instrumental in cornerback Matt Palermo's successful switch from safety to cornerback, which culminated in his All-Patriot League Second Team selection. That year, he also coached Academic All-American David Frisbey.

Davidson (2003-04)

Moved to the defensive side of the ball, coaching defensive backs for his second season on campus at Davidson.
In his first full-time coaching role, Crawford was tasked with coaching quarterbacks at his alma mater during the 2003 season.

Background

A 2001 graduate of Davidson, Crawford earned a bachelor’s degree in biology while playing defensive back and being named the school’s male athlete of the year in 2000. He led I-AA with eight interceptions his junior season en route to earning first team All-American honors. Also while at Davidson, he was named the I-AA Mid-Major Defensive Back of the Year as well as the I-AA Independent Defensive MVP. He was inducted into the Davison Hall of Fame in 2012.
After graduating from Davidson, Crawford played professionally with the Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He also worked as a stuntman and featured extra in the movie “Radio” starring Cuba Gooding Jr.

Personal

Crawford and his wife, Carrie, have a daughter, Dylan, and son, Bryson.

Coaching History

Seasons	School/Team	Title/Position Coached
2020-present	Wake Forest	Assistant Special Teams Coordinator/Rovers
2018-19	Wake Forest	Cornerbacks
2014-17	Harvard	Special Teams Coordinator/Secondary
2012-14	Harvard	Secondary
2011	Rhode Island	Defensive Coordinator
2008-10	Rhode Island	Secondary
2005-07	Bucknell	Cornerbacks
2004	Davidson	Secondary
2003	Davidson	Quarterbacks

Postseason History

Season	Bowl Game/Postseason	Opponent	Result
2019	Pinstripe Bowl (Wake Forest)	Michigan State	L, 27-21
2018	Birmingham Bowl (Wake Forest)	Memphis	W, 31-34