Dameyune Craig II

[StatTiger 3,188]

Could not pass up the opportunity to express my thoughts on my favorite AU quarterback.

I wrote this feature back in March of 2006 and thought I'd share it with my fellow AU brothers and sisters...

Remembering Dameyune Craig

Bo Jackson is commonly considered the best football player to play at Auburn University. His accomplishments on the field as a college and professional football player have been well documented. He left Auburn with the Heisman trophy, led Auburn to one of it’s best seasons in 1983 and remains the school’s all time leading rusher. As a professional athlete, Bo Jackson was nationally known in two major sports and his popularity magnified with his long running series of Nike commercials. Pat Sullivan might not be considered as the best player to grace the plains but he’s widely considered to be the best quarterback at Auburn. He was the first Auburn player to win the Heisman trophy and he still holds many of Auburn’s passing records despite the fact he last suited up well over thirty years ago. When it comes to an individual player’s importance to his team, former Auburn quarterback, Dameyune Craig corners the market. Jackson and Sullivan were fortunate enough to have played on some great teams but Dameyune Craig made Auburn a better team.

Legacy…

It’s been nearly a decade since Dameyune Craig was behind center but he still possesses many school records. He currently holds the record for most pass attempts (403), most completions (216) and passing yardage (3277) in one season. His average of 273.1 yards passing per game in 1997, remains at the top of the list. His 394 yards passing against Mississippi State in 1996 remains a school record. Craig also holds the school record for consecutive games (13) with at least one touchdown pass. No other Auburn quarterback had more 300-yard passing games (6) and he still holds the most 200-yard passing games in one season (12). His 499 individual plays during the 1997 season are the most by any Auburn player and his career number of touchdowns responsible for (58) is second behind Pat Sullivan. Craig holds three of the top five all time total yards gained during one game, which included three games of over 400 yards in total offense.

Inside the numbers…

Dameyune Craig was never the most accurate passer or efficient quarterback at Auburn but he was the master of making the big play.

Pass plays of 30-yards or more:

Jason Campbell: 52 in 856 attempts

Dameyune Craig: 42 in 782 attempts

Patrick Nix: 34 in 656 attempts

Ben Leard: 28 in 592 attempts

Brandon Cox: 14 in 307 attempts

Reggie Slack: 25 in 585 attempts

Stan White: 26 in 1231 attempts

With the lack of a running game during the 1997 season, Dameyune Craig’s ability to make the big play was essential for Auburn to have any success on offense. Craig connected on twenty-eight pass plays of 30-yards or more, which accounted for thirty percent of Auburn’s total offense in 1997. This was the highest percentage of big play accountability over the past nineteen seasons. During the 1997 campaign, Auburn had at least two plays of 30-yards or more in ten of its twelve games, excluding the bowl game. This was the highest number of at least two “big plays” per game over the last nineteen seasons.

Dameyune Craig’s true worthiness is found in what he accomplished with so little offensive support around him. During his two-year stint as the starting quarterback, Dameyune Craig accounted for seventy-one percent of Auburn’s total offense. The second highest percentage behind Craig was Pat Sullivan’s fifty-four percent from 1969 through 1971. Pat Nix (1994-1995) was the only other Auburn quarterback to account for over fifty percent of the team’s offense.

Percentage of total yardage:

Dameyune Craig 1996-1997: 71.4%

Pat Sullivan 1969-1971: 53.6%

Patrick Nix 1994-1995: 51.3%

Stan White 1990-1993: 49.6%

Jason Campbell 2003-2004: 48.2%

Reggie Slack 1988-1989: 47.3%

Ben Leard 1999-2000: 45.6%

Brandon Cox 2005: 45.1%

During the 1998 season, Ben Leard and Gabe Gross combined for 66.5% of Auburn’s offensive yardage and 76.5% of the team’s offensive touchdowns. Despite having a better defense in 1998 compared to 1997, the 1998 squad finished the season, 3-8. Over the last thirty years, I cannot recall the loss of one Auburn player, which had such a devastating effect. In fairness to Leard and Gross, both quarterbacks were first time starters, playing behind an offensive line riddled by injury but it doesn’t take away from the magnitude of Craig’s success.

Percentage of Touchdowns (Run & Pass):

Dameyune Craig 1996-1997: 60.3%

Pat Sullivan 1969-1971: 55.5%

Ben Leard 1999-2000: 46.7%

Stan White 1990-1993: 44.0%

Patrick Nix 1994-1995: 37.8%

Jason Campbell 2003-2004: 36.2%

Reggie Slack 1988-1989: 33.8%

Brandon Cox 2005: 31.9%

Only Jason Campbell (25) had more touchdown passes of over twenty yards than Dameyune Craig (23) during their respective careers.

Lack of supporting cast…

Of the nine Auburn quarterbacks who have thrown for 2000 yards in one season, Dameyune Craig had the worst running game during his two years as the starting quarterback.

Average yards rushing per game:

Brandon Cox 2004-2005: 203.8

Reggie Slack 1987-1989: 194.8

Patrick Nix 1994-1995: 194.4

Jeff Burger 1986-1987: 188.2

Pat Sullivan 1969-1971: 186.1

Jason Campbell 2001-2004: 179.8

Stan White 1990-1993: 171.5

Ben Leard 1998-2000: 120.9

Dameyune Craig 1996-1997: 113.8

During Craig’s twenty-three regular season starts, Auburn was held under 100-yards rushing on twelve occasions.

Quarterback Ratings with running game under 100-yards rushing:

Ben Leard: 145.5

Dameyune Craig: 121.5

Patrick Nix: 118.1

Reggie Slack: 110.3

Jason Campbell: 109.6

Pat Sullivan: 103.9

Jeff Burger: 100.3

Brandon Cox: 100.2

Stan White: 95.0

Despite having the worst running game, Craig posted the second highest rating behind Ben Leard.

What could have been…

During Craig’s tenure as the starter, Auburn’s running game eclipsed the 150-yard mark on six occasions. Like any other quarterback, his numbers improved with a strong running attack.

Quarterback rating with running game over 150-yards:

Jason Campbell: 156.8

Dameyune Craig: 152.2

Reggie Slack: 143.0

Patrick Nix: 137.4

Brandon Cox: 135.9

Pat Sullivan: 133.7

Jeff Burger: 133.4

Ben Leard: 127.4

Stan White: 113.9

Dameyune Craig’s “big play” ability was never needed more than during the 1997 season. In comparison with other Auburn teams, the 1997 offense finished tenth over the last fourteen seasons in average yards per play on first down. They finished eleventh over the last thirteen seasons in percentage of “three and out” series and eighth over the last sixteen years in third down conversions. Dameyune Craig led Auburn to a 10-3 season and the Tigers’ first trip to the Southeastern Conference Championship. This was truly an amazing performance when you consider the 1997 team played the fifth toughest schedule in school history since 1951. One can only imagine what Auburn could have accomplished with Dameyune Craig and a balanced attack. He was a fiery competitor and an emotional leader on and off the field. He left Auburn with no championship rings but he played like one throughout his career. He raised the bar of performance for other quarterbacks to follow and he continues to be a part of the game as an assistant coach. Coach Pat Dye once said, “Bo Jackson gave Auburn the ability to play with anyone in the country” and the same can be said of Dameyune Craig. The year after Pat Sullivan left Auburn, the “72 Amazins” posted a 10-1-0 record. The year after Bo Jackson left, Auburn went 10-2-0 in 1986. The year after Dameyune Craig left Auburn, the Tigers collapsed to 3-8-0 in 1998. He was clearly a “field general” by definition and will always be considered one of Auburn’s greatest quarterbacks.

[Hoopie 6]

Stat......I've had 3 scotches and gotta go to the neighbor's party so I can't read the entire post right now but, YOU NEED TO PRINT ALL OF THESE AU STATS IN A BOOK. You are a machine.

[AUesquire 1]

That hits the proverbial nail on the head. Forget the stats for a second. The one point in that article that trumps all others is that no player in Auburn history made a team better as an individual than did Craig. Bo's accomplishments speak for themselves, but he had some freakin' studs around him too while he played. The 83' team ranks as one of the best ever at AU.

During Craig's tenure as a starter, I'm not exagerating when I say Auburn was a 3-5 win team at most with any other QB. As Stat says, we had NO running game. And as I say, our O-line was putred. Bowden was a punk....but I digress. Craig was a stud and I was very surprised he didn't make a huge paycheck on Sundays.

[jdub5793 0]

That hits the proverbial nail on the head. Forget the stats for a second. The one point in that article that trumps all others is that no player in Auburn history made a team better as an individual than did Craig. Bo's accomplishments speak for themselves, but he had some freakin' studs around him too while he played. The 83' team ranks as one of the best ever at AU.

During Craig's tenure as a starter, I'm not exagerating when I say Auburn was a 3-5 win team at most with any other QB. As Stat says, we had NO running game. And as I say, our O-line was putred. Bowden was a punk....but I digress. Craig was a stud and I was very surprised he didn't make a huge paycheck on Sundays.

He could have and should have. I think he had Flutie disease, teams thinking he was too short to play. Carolina held on to him for 4 years and knew he was good. I remember some preseason games (yes, I know, it was only preseason) where he was put in and they were losing big. Dameyune brought them back with that amazing arm. He then went on to tear up NFL europe and he still holds the single game record (611 yards).

He's another guy who we can say that he just needed a chance to play to show what he could do when it mattered.

[Holeman14 11]

DC has always been my favorite quarterback to play for Auburn.