Alumni update: Eric Crouch

Eric Crouch, who briefly was with the Packers before the 2003 and 2004 seasons, was the third overall pick in Saturday's All American Football League draft.

Though Crouch, 29, won the Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at the University of Nebraska in 2001, he's had trouble convincing professional teams that he can play the position.

Crouch was the Texas team's top selection in the AAFL draft. He wants to play quarterback, he told the Omaha World-Herald.

The St. Louis Rams drafted Crouch in 2002 and put him at receiver. He retired. The Packers signed him in 2003 and tried him at quarterback. When coach Mike Sherman told Crouch he wouldn't make the team at that position, he left the team on the eve of training camp, saying he probably was done with football.

He wasn't. The Packers gave Crouch another chance in 2004, trying him at safety and punt returner. He didn't make it. Crouch played safety in NFL Europe in 2005, then finally got to play quarterback as a backup for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 2006. He was released last September.

The AAFL has teams in Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Texas, Tennessee and Michigan. It's scheduled to begin play in April.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com