He was a former top recruit sleeping in a barn. Then Johnson C. Smith offered a way back

Quavaris Crouch was the No. 1 high school football prospect in the country.

The 6 -foot-2, 220 , linebacker dropped out of college after struggling in classes.

Crouch is now at Division II program Johnson C. Smith , which kicks off its season at 7 p.m. Sunday on the road at Tuskegee University .

After he was sidelined from football at the end of that 2022 season , Crouch “lost focus” and didn’t earn good enough grades to be eligible to play the next semester.

With no scholarship check coming, he couldn't afford to stay in an apartment, so Crouch stayed in a friend’s living room.

Crouch reconnected with God and reconnected to a Bible study led by a guy named Emmanuel Boateng .

Boateng saw Crouch 's potential, so he nudged him back into the gym, pushed him back toward the sky.

Crouch is helping his new team, yes — but they're also saving him.

It's just like working with kids in Lansing , back when his dreams were afloat.

“Here’s a young man who knew there's a plan for his life, and he refuses to be stopped,” Flowers said.