After 4 coaches in 6 years, new Panthers defensive lineman says he can adapt to anything
It was the night after a long SEC Media Day in July 2022, and the players who were flown into Atlanta for the day were asleep.
Well, except Jaden Crumedy.
Crumedy, instead, was kept awake by his Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach pontificating on animal attacks, specifically what one should do if they encounter a bear. Leach, a late legend for his deadpan rambles about things other than football, advised that “if you see a bear, just get bigger than yourself.” He was “making all kinds of sounds” that made Crumedy, then a 6-foot-5, 305-pound senior from Hattiesburg, Miss., laugh like he was a little kid.
Was the advice at least useful?
“Nah,” Crumedy told reporters a few days ago through a chuckle, “I ain’t never been around a bear.”
Crumedy told this story the day the defensive lineman was taken by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. It stuck out because it was a classic Leach story, no doubt. But perhaps it did, too, because it was one of the millions of tidbits he’d picked up from having four head coaches in his six years at Mississippi State — preparing him for working with his fifth coach in seven years under Dave Canales with the Panthers.
Crumedy, 24, certainly considers all he’s seen an asset.
“It just gives me a better way of observing everything,” he said. “I’ve been through a lot of different things, seen a lot of different schemes.” He’s also confident he can recognize a lot of formations he hasn’t yet played in.
Crumedy, who almost exclusively played in the Bulldogs’ 3-3-5 defense, will certainly have some adjusting to do in defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s 3-4 scheme. But perhaps not as much as you might think. On paper the two defenses seem to have similar structures — the Panthers used a ton of nickel packages throughout the season, using DBs Troy Hill or Jeremy Chinn instead of a fourth LB — and the principles along the defensive line appear to be largely the same with three down linemen.
Derrick Brown, a fellow SEC alum, shined in Evero’s 3-4 scheme. He earned a Pro Bowl nod for leading the league in tackles among defensive linemen and being one of the best run-stoppers in the NFL. Crumedy earned a similar reputation during his MSU tenure that featured 39 consecutive starts to end his career, 119 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and five pass deflections. His draft profile on NFL.com states: “He’s slightly below-average as a pass rusher but above-average as a run defender and should continue to improve with better technique” and has the “potential to become a rotational lineman in odd or even fronts.”
That’s quite versatile — something Canales and general manager Dan Morgan have said they’ve honed in on throughout this draft process.
It’s something Crumedy learned by necessity — from his many coaches but also from his teammates who’d go on to be NFL guys like Montez Sweat (Chicago Bears) and Jeffery Simmons (Tennessee Titans).
“I’m all about learning from different players,” Crumedy said. “And you know, I know they will take me under their wing and just make sure I know what I’m doing, teach me different things. I’m good with just learning anything, any way.”
