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Do you know Jack?

Sophomore defensive end Jack Crawford has an intriguing background.

* He's British and moved to New Jersey in 2005 to play high school basketball.

* He also boxed and played soccer, cricket and rugby as a youth in his home country.

* He had never played football until he was a junior in high school but still was able to earn a scholarship to Penn State.

* He had never heard of Joe Paterno until the father of his host family pointed out the legendary coach during a game on TV.

* That host-family father, Steven Dandrea, was a point guard on the St. Francis basketball team from 1977-80 and graduated from the Loretto school.

* His host-family brother, Peter Dandrea, is a freshman offensive tackle at Penn.

UNIVERSITY PARK - With all due respect to NFL first-round pick Aaron Maybin, even he wouldn't stack up against Jack Crawford in a contest of most impressive physical specimen.

As linebacker Jerome Hayes put it, the chiseled 6-foot-5, 265-pound Crawford "looks like a monster."

Anyone who saw Crawford work out Friday at Penn State's annual Lift for Life charity event surely took notice of his impressive physique. The sophomore defensive end is 30 pounds heavier than Maybin, a first-team All-American, was last season and is viewed by many to be the breakout player on the Nittany Lion defense this fall.

Those expectations are remarkable considering Crawford's past.

The 20-year-old from London, England, moved to the United States just four years ago to pursue a basketball career, and he had never played football until he was a high school junior three years ago.

Before then, Crawford had no idea who Joe Paterno was. He didn't even know what offsides meant or that there are four downs in a series.

He knew almost nothing about American football, short of what he had seen in a cheesy, glamorized Hollywood movie starring Jamie Foxx and Al Pacino.

"Until I watched 'Any Given Sunday' on TV, I didn't know anything about the sport," Crawford said.

That film, he added, taught Crawford "that there's a lot of money in football."

He will earn a bunch of that money someday, too - if he turns out to be anywhere near as good as his potential suggests.

"You can just imagine what he's going to be like once he gets a couple more years under his belt," PSU defensive tackle Devon Still said.

Crawford speaks with a distinct British accent, though in a much softer tone than one would expect from such a large man. His teammates, of course, poke fun at the accent on occasion.

"When he first got here, we had some jokes to throw his way," Hayes said.

Such as?

"We would check our watches and ask him, 'Isn't it time for your tea and crumpets?'"

Crawford laughed off the jokes. Then he let his play on the field do his talking.

"Once we saw him put his helmet and shoulder pads on and saw him go to work against veteran lineman, we kind of cut the jokes to a minimum," Hayes said.

Crawford was one of just three true freshmen to play in every game for PSU last season, joining running back Brandon Beachum and linebacker Michael Mauti.

He likely would have been a backup again this season had Maybin and Maurice Evans not left early for the NFL, but their departures have given Crawford a chance to make a big-time impact as a sophomore.

"He is an outstanding prospect," Paterno said of Crawford at the Blue-White Game in April.

The coach went on to add, "He's a good player. He works hard. He's tough. He's trying to be really good and has been an asset to us."

Not long ago, Crawford's goal was to become an asset for a college basketball team, not college football. He moved from London to New Jersey in 2005 chasing hoop dreams and lived with a host family while attending and playing for St. Augustine College Preparatory School.

"I was always best at basketball," Crawford said. "I was hoping to play basketball forever, but when I came over here it just didn't work out and I got interested in football. ... My junior year in high school I decided to give it a try, and from that point on I just liked it more and more."

The physical nature of the sport drew him to football. This is, after all, a kid who used to box when he was 12 years old.

"I definitely like that aspect of it," he said. "I like the contact, I like the intensity of football. It's a game where if you don't do what you're supposed to do, you're going to pay for it. I like that."

Crawford wasn't happy with how things were working out with his host family, so he asked a friend and fellow basketball player, Peter Dandrea, if he could move in with his family.

Peter's father, Steven Dandrea, was a point guard on the St. Francis basketball team from 1977-80 and graduated from the Loretto school. He and his family welcomed Crawford with open arms.

"We view him as our son," Steven said. "We treat him just like our son, Peter, maybe even better."

D'Andrea will go on for minutes at a time raving about Crawford, not as a football player, but as a responsible, respectful young man.

"He's a little bit shy, but he's got a tremendous heart," Steven Dandrea said. "Very, very kind. Exceedingly smart, very disciplined and extremely focused."

The Dandrea family was sitting around a TV a few years back, and the very first football game Crawford ever watched involved Penn State.

"I told Jack, 'You see that guy there, Joe Paterno? He's a legend.' And he didn't know. He didn't know who Joe Paterno was," Dandrea said.

Paterno eventually became aware of Crawford after an excellent two-year high school career. Crawford was a standout receiver and defensive end for St. Augustine Prep, and as scout.com's 15th-best end in the country, he drew interest from major programs such as PSU, Ohio State and Rutgers.

Dandrea had a meeting with Paterno and told him: "You've had some great ones come through here, but when you get Jack, I'm telling you you won't find a kid that works as hard, and you will never have to worry about him doing anything but be respectful to Penn State and to the football program."

Most kids who have played football their entire lives have to redshirt as true freshmen at big programs, but Crawford's limited experience didn't keep him off the field last year. A big reason, his teammates say, is how quickly he already has and continues to learn the game.

"That kid's a sponge," defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu said.

"Once you teach him something, he just keeps on working on it until he gets it down," Still said.

Much of what Crawford accomplished as a freshman was based on raw athleticism, Hayes said. Since then, the extra work he's put in has elevated his game.

"He's the true meaning of a Penn Stater," Hayes said. "His work ethic is unbelievable."

He has studied the game intensely the past three years, but Crawford admits he still has a ways to go to catch up on his football acumen.

"Sometimes, the terminology of football, I still get confused," he said. "I don't always understand what's going on in certain defenses and certain schemes."

To his own surprise, however, Crawford has never been as far behind the learning curve as he expected when he came to Penn State.

"I soon realized I wasn't that far behind and I could pick it up quickly," he said. "As long as I listen and pay attention to what other people are doing, I can pick it up."

He's picked up the sport and excelled at it so quickly that his parents back in London, Lincoln and Janet, are amazed at the transition.

"They're shocked. Shocked," Steven Dandrea said.

Maybin surprised college football experts last year with his breakout performance, just as Evans did in 2007. Imagine the amazement, then, if the next standout Penn State defensive lineman is a British import with such limited experience in the game.

The country may be surprised, but not those closest to the PSU program.

"The sky's the limit for Jack Crawford," Hayes said.

Cory Giger can be reached at 949-7031 and cgsports12@aol.com.