Nov. 11, 2001

By Marcus Bishel
MU Media Relations Office

He was nervous.

He was sweating even though his teammates said he would do just fine.

Those feelings were were the feelings of Aaron Crittendon right before his first start of his college career, which happened to be the 1998 Insight.com Bowl.

Since that game, Crittendon, a 6- foot-5, 340-pound tackle from St. Joseph, Mo., has been a staple on the Missouri offensive line.

As Crittendon prepares to run out on to Faurot Field for the last time, he is reminded of the game against Iowa State last year.

"I came up to some linebacker and I hit him so hard he threw up," said Crittendon, remembering his favorite block.

He expects Senior Day to be an emotional day.

"I always look for my parents before every game and they will on the field (for today's game) so it will be a little more emotional than any other game," he said.

Crittendon says he does not do anything special to prepare before games.

"I just sit in the locker room and focus," he said. "My main objective is to protect my quarterback and I focus on that."

Crittendon has had to block many of the premier pass rushers in college football but he said his most difficult task was to block Justin Smith, a former Tiger and current member of the Cincinnati Bengals. However, he believes he held his own against Smith.

Crittendon says there is a special bond with his fellow offensive linemen.

"I like hanging out with all of them," he said. "Except for (Justin) Bland, we have all been here for five years and we have been through everything together."

Crittendon, who idolized Orlando Pace when Pace played at Ohio State, says there are misconceptions about offensive lineman being just big guys.

"We're big guys, but we like to consider ourselves thin," he said. "We are always looking at ourselves in the mirror, we want to look good."

Crittendon gets many thanks from his running backs, especially Zack Abron, but says offensive linemen need more coverage because "as we go, so does the team."

Crittendon, a consumer and family economics major, said he hopes to realize his lifelong dream to be in the National Football League when the 2001 season is over. He just hopes he will not be nervous and sweating in his first NFL start.