By Mike London
Salisbury Post
NEWNAN, Ga. — Pound for pound, Ervin Vanshaun Crump may have been as strong as anyone who’s ever worn a Catawba football uniform.
Crump, known as ‘Shaun,” became a professional body builder and trainer after college.
He died on Dec. 1 at age 47.
As a running back who made an unselfish conversion from tailback to fullback, Crump was part of Catawba College’s rise to national prominence in Division II in the late 1990s.
Crump was a power-lifting phenom even when he was a student-athlete at Lee County High School in Sanford. Crump was 5-foot-8, 185 pounds as a high school senior, but he was super-strong.
Lee County competed in the 4A Cap-7 against the Raleigh schools. The Raleigh News and Observer conducted testing of 900 top area athletes when Crump was a high school junior. Athletes were measured for body composition, flexibility, upper and lower body power, agility and acceleration. Crump, who was a 4.6 runner in the 40, was rated fourth out of 900. The three players that ranked ahead of him were older.
Crump starred not only in football, but in wrestling and track and field in high school. Catawba had turned the corner as a program in 1995 under the direction of new head coach David Bennett, and the Indians were able to recruit Crump.
Crump was a redshirt in 1997, but already was impressing coaches with his talent and work ethic. He was named MVP for the developmental squad, the scout team.
Kevin McKenzie had emerged as a star at tailback, but Crump was Catawba’s No. 2 rusher as a redshirt freshman in 1998. He played in nine games and carried 77 times for 348 yards. His big game was against Mars Hill. He broke loose for a 53-yard touchdown against the Lions — Catawba’s longest run of the season — and totaled 102 rushing yards. He also had 61 rushing yards against Gardner-Webb and scored a touchdown against Newberry.
The following spring, Crump was moved to fullback, primarily a blocking role for the Indians, although he still would have his moments carrying the ball. As a sophomore, he played in nine games and had 33 carries for 135 yards. He powered for TDs against Mars Hill and Wingate and had 40 rushing yards in the playoff win against Fort Valley State.
Crump’s last games for the Indians were the two he played in 2000. He had 86 rushing yards and a TD in a romp against North Greenville.
Crump graduated with a degree in sociology in 2001 and switched his athletic focus to body-building. He was winning statewide events in that sport by 2002 and was qualifying for national competitions. In 2005, he placed seventh nationally and was featured in Flex magazine.
Crump met Brooke Uzzolino while they were Catawba students and they were married in 2005. It was a prosperous marriage that lasted until his death. They had a son and a daughter.
Crump served for a time as a counselor/case supervisor at the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown, Pa. He also trained five days as a week as a body-builder as he pushed his weight to 237 powerful pounds.
The Crumps relocated to Georgia in 2011, and Crump experienced the joy of coaching his son’s football team. He was a huge fan of NC State and the Washington Redskins/Commanders and passed that on to his children.
He rose to impressive heights in the muscle world. He once shared a dinner with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Crump is survived by his wife, his children and one grandchild. Services will be held in Georgia on Sunday.
