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As far as he has come, there’s still a long way to go for Brandon Crawford until he evolves from the oldest player in college to the oldest rookie in the NFL.
He’s been invited by the Giants to attend this weekend’s mini-camp, where he’ll be one of the 23 hopefuls brought in on a tryout basis — no contract, no promises and probably not much of a chance for anything other than a return flight home to Fort Wayne, Ind.
Fortunately, Crawford doesn’t view his life as a long shot because if he did, at 33 years old, he would already have given up on his dream instead of looking to embark on a professional football career at an age when most others are retiring.
“I look at it as a chance, an opportunity to prove people wrong,” Crawford yesterday told The Post. “There’s a lot of doubters out there, a lot of people say ‘There’s no way that can happen.’ I guess in America you shouldn’t dream, that’s what you should tell kids. Don’t be inspired, don’t push for what you want to do.
“Everybody’s path is different. Everybody doesn’t take the same road to get to where they want to go and to where they desire to go. If that was the case, I think life would be boring. My path is different, that’s how I’ve always approached it and how I will continue to approach it.”
It’s not the path less traveled; it’s the path never traveled.
“A great story,” said Marc Ross, the Giants’ director of college scouting.
The story begins in 1996 when Crawford, a defensive end, graduated from high school. He received a handful of offers to play small-college football, but there wasn’t enough money to pay for school so he went to work in a variety of jobs, the last at an automotive assembly line. At 23 years old he needed something new and joined the Marine Corps, spending four years in the Corps — first in San Diego, then at a base in North Carolina — before receiving an honorable discharge in 2003.
“You have to be a tough-minded individual, be able to give a lot of effort,” Crawford said of his Marines experience. “You have to be unselfish, be able to get your bearings and be able to retain knowledge. The main thing that comes into my mind is team.”
Football still coursed through his veins and so in 2006 he walked into the football office at Ball State in nearby Muncie, Ind., and asked for a shot. He was 29 years old and hadn’t strapped on a helmet in 10 years. The coaching staff was skeptical, to put it mildly.
“I guess he’s one of these kind of guys ‘If you’re going to say no to me, it won’t be without me giving it my best, ‘ “ said Stan Parrish, the head coach at Ball State. “He’s all the right stuff.”
Parrish called Crawford “Soldier” and his much younger teammates dubbed him “Crawdad.” He was able to compete. As a 30-year old sophomore he blocked a field goal at the end of regulation against Navy and Ball State won in overtime. He was voted team captain his last two years and twice was named all-Mid-American Conference. In 39 consecutive starts, the 6-foot-3, 272-pound Crawford finished with 37 1⁄2 tackles for loss and 15 sacks.
“He turned into not only a nice player for us but a great leader,” Parrish said. “I never looked at him as an older guy, other than he was very mature and made good decisions. He intermingled with the kids beautifully. It would be hard for anybody else to do that. You get one or two like that your whole career.”
True to his nature, Crawford thought he’d get selected in the NFL Draft, watched the entire three-day event and never heard his name called. He wasn’t wanted as an undrafted free agent, but his agent called around and the Giants said yes.
“I kind of thought this guy deserves a chance,” Ross said. “He’s a good-sized guy, been productive, we know he’ll come in, give us an honest day’s work and work his (butt) off.
“I wish everybody had that kind of perseverance and dedication and drive that he does. If we can get his story out and everybody follows his path, we’ll be a hell of a team.”
For Crawford to show enough to get signed would be a monumental upset. Getting through training camp and onto the final roster would be almost unimaginable. If he did, he’d become the oldest Giants player as a rookie.
Ross said he’ll be pulling for Crawford.
“We’re human too,” he said. “This is a business and it’s going to come down to the best, but a guy like this you have no choice, if you got a heart, to root for him.”
Crawford knows the odds, but is undeterred.
“I don’t know how you’re supposed to feel at my age,” Crawford said. “People say ‘You know you’re an old man?’ I say ‘I don’t feel like it.’ I think the number is more of a factor for everyone else than it is for me. Take away the number and look at the ability. I can play the game.”
paul.schwartz@nypost.com