Su'a Cravens Back at USC To Finish Degree
Aubrey Kragen
8/25/2020
Su'a Cravens is as proud a Trojan as they come.
But for the last few years, a feeling has been gnawing at the former USC football star: that he's not a real Trojan, because he doesn't yet have his USC degree.
For the first six years of his life, Cravens lived within a mile of USC's campus. He could hear the Trojan Marching Band playing the Fight Song from his house. He came of age when USC was in its prime, winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. His sister competed for the women's basketball and track team at USC. His cousin played on the women's basketball team, dated then-USC-quarterback Matt Leinart, and the two went on to have a son together.
“All that made me feel like I was already on the team when I was only in elementary or middle school,” Cravens explained. “I was born into that era of Trojan pride.”
So when Cravens made his way onto the USC football team, he was fulfilling a lifelong dream.
He was named a Freshman All-American in 2013, First Team All-Pac-12 in 2014 and a team captain in 2015. He was a firecracker both on and off the field, winning the hearts of the Trojan Faithful.
After three successful years, Cravens decided to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL Draft. He was selected in the second round (53rd overall) by the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Football Team). But his NFL career was cut short by injuries and he officially retired from professional football earlier this year.
With his football career over, Cravens looked elsewhere for income and a sense of purpose in life. He started focusing more on making music, which had been a hobby of his since high school. It started with freestyling rap battles against teammates, like USC WR Darreus Rogers, and grew through his conversations with USC DB Leon McQuay III, who was a music industry major.
Once his NFL salary gave him the means, Cravens built his own studio and has been writing lyrics and producing songs, both for himself and other artists, ever since.
In addition to making music, Cravens has designs for another career path.
He'd like to become a coach.
“I’ve always wanted to coach because I feel like I have a great football mind,” he explained. “I had to play so many different positions when I was at SC and even in high school and the NFL, so I’ve learned defense from every angle. I’ve gotten to learn offense from seeing so many different offenses, too. When I was done playing, I thought, ‘I don’t want to waste this mind.’ I want to get my hands on the youth, whether it be high school or college and just share the info that I’ve gained.”
Indeed, Cravens seemed to switch positions on a yearly basis. He came to USC as a safety, but a teammate's injury forced him to move to outside linebacker. He was then drafted as a safety, but thrown in at middle linebacker for Washington.
Whether he becomes a hit music producer or a legendary coach, first thing's first: he wants to earn his Bachelor's degree in sociology from USC.
“I made a promise to my parents that I'd get that degree,” he said. “Got to finish that degree and become a real Trojan.”
Cravens hoped his return to USC would happen in-person, but the coronavirus epidemic forced USC to move instruction online. Cravens is taking his classes from home, where he's also taking care of his five-month-old daughter, Diosa.
It's been quite an adjustment going back to school. Cravens said he was late to his first class because he clicked on the Zoom link for a different class and waited for a few minutes wondering why the class hadn't started yet.
“School is definitely harder than what I remember, especially because Zoom is like calculus to me,” Cravens joked. “It's also hard to be locked in on class and make sure my daughter’s not crying in the background or the teacher asks a question and I’m over here trying to feed my baby. But I’m up for the challenge.”
Cravens said his daughter gives him extra motivation to get through his classes and graduate, which he's slated to do in Fall 2021. It's still a year away, but Cravens can't wait 'til the day he can officially call himself a USC alum.
“I might cry,” he said. “Just to have that plaque on my wall and be able to say, ‘I did it. This is real.’ It’s going to be one of the proudest moments of my life.”
