Imposing running back Quavaris Crouch of Charlotte’s Harding University High received an offer from Stanford during a phone call Wednesday with coaches Ron Gould and Tavita Pritchard.

“I was really excited about it,” he said. “That’s a big deal to get offered by Stanford, one of the best schools in the country with their education. I didn’t really talk to Stanford (before the offer). My coach talked to Stanford for me and I talked to them on the phone and they offered me.”

Crouch’s stature is one of the attributes that is immediately noticeable as he runs away from and over opponents in North Carolina. Crouch said he’s 6-foot-1 ½ and 224 pounds. It’s that combination of size and speed that caused the Clemson coaches to recently offer him as an athlete, saying they could see him playing linebacker.

Pritchard and Gould talked to him about his future wrecking defenses.

“I prefer being a running back and I feel I excel there,” Crouch said. He explained that running back is the “craft” he’s been working on since he started playing football when he was five.

Clemson is the only school who has talked to him about possibly playing defense. Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and others want him to play offense.

With a growing mountain of mail from interested schools, Crouch said he talks to athletes who have gone through the process before: “Take it slow, pay attention to all the details and pick the best place for you.”

Crouch admittedly doesn’t know much about Stanford, yet. But what he is familiar with from watching the Cardinal, and his first conversation with Pritchard and Gould, has made a good impression on the sophomore.

“Talking to the coaches, they made me feel like I was family already,” he said. “I like that about it. I like the style of running they have. They run out of pro sets and I feel really comfortable running out of pro sets. I like schools that run downhill. I see myself as a north-south running back. I like the offense how it is.

“I’m really aware of (Christian) McCaffrey and he’s one of my favorite running backs. Before I was in contact with Stanford I was always looking at McCaffrey. You want to look at all running backs and take things from their game and put them in your game.”

Passing is not the strongest part of Harding High’s offense, and the team’s statistics listed on Maxpreps appear to be incomplete, showing stats for 10 of the team’s 12 games.

Crouch caught 11 passes but for 224 yards, and also two touchdowns, mostly on screens. His longest receiving play was 44 yards. He also had 168 carries in 10 games for 1,224 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Crouch doesn’t rely on his natural talent to carry him to success. He works out three times a day and runs track.

“I work really hard to get where I am,” he said.

Crouch’s production and physical attributes have caught the attention of schools near and far, but Stanford is the only school out West that has offered. He said his family talked about the distance from home.

“They gave me the freedom to pick wherever I want to play football and be my best,” he said. “I’m not afraid to go away from home or anything.

“I am most definitely going to visit Stanford. I don’t have any date, yet, but I think coming soon.”