KARLSTAD, Sweden- Former Ouachita Baptist quarterback Eli Cranor has signed to play professional football with the Carlstad Crusaders in Karlstad, Sweden, team officials announced on Wednesday.
Carlstad has become one of the top organizations in European football in recent years, after advancing to eight of the past nine Swedish Championships and winning the title in 2010 and the EFAF championship in 2003. With key players returning to the squad in 2011, the Crusaders look to again be one of the top teams in the English Football League (EFL). Carlstad Head Coach Tracey Gere is a Seattle, Wash. native and was the lead recruiter of the 6’1, 210 pound product, as the Swedish town has approximately 80,000 residents.
Cranor will continue his career as a quarterback after setting single season passing and total offense records for the Tigers in 2010. Cranor was a Second Team All-Gulf South Conference selection in 2010, after completing 204-of-338 passes for 2,570 yards and 14 touchdowns, while adding 513 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. With 3,083 yards of total offense, the senior finished third best in the GSC with a 308-yard total offense/game average.
To cap off his collegiate career, the senior earned GSC Player of the Week honors on Nov. 15 in his final regular season game as a Tiger, finishing with a combined 296 total yards, running for 124 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, while passing for 172 yards on 15-of-16 attempts and a score. In the process, Cranor tied the GSC single-game record for completion percentage (93.8), becoming the first player since Valdosta State’s Lance Funderburck in 1993 to accomplish the feat.
In his career, Cranor started 20-straight games, completing 386-of-663 passes for 4,712 yards and 28 touchdowns, including 792 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. In all, the senior finished with 5,504 yards of total offense and 40 touchdowns. Both career totals for passing yards and total offense rank fourth all-time in Ouachita Baptist football history.
Cranor will report to Carlstad at the end of March, as the Crusaders kick off the 2011 campaign on April 23.
