ENMU transfer off to fast start in first outing

Eastern New Mexico University senior fullback Ron Craten cracked up while reflecting upon a smiley face tattoo on his right bicep. Though it's the size of a dime, it unearths who this first-year transfer from Mississippi College is and where he hails from.

"It's definitely a country tattoo," laughed Craten, a native of Oak Grove, a rural, low-income town in northeastern Louisiana of fewer than 2,000 people where folks honk their horns to holler at one another, kids fish, play in mud and find trouble, and football is king.

"Country people are just crazy and wild. And I'm definitely crazy and wild," he said.

"Crazy and wild" is one way to describe Craten's running style in his dominant performance during the Hounds' season-opening 63-37 win over New Mexico Highlands. 

As ENMU prepares for its home-opener against Sul Ross State at 6 p.m. Saturday, Craten's small-town upbringing could play a pivotal role in ENMU's rebuild.

"My support system and fans back home, they expect a lot from me," Craten said. "So I'm gonna do it."

Given the Hounds penchant for allowing points, ENMU needs Craten to maintain a robust triple-option attack. If that doesn't happen, losses may start piling up and Portales locals could be thrust into waiting another several years to celebrate a winner. The Hounds haven't eclipsed a .500 record since 2019. 

For Craten, meanwhile, if he can make 100-plus rushing yard and two-touchdown performances a regular occurrence, he can resuscitate his once bleak chances to play in the XFL or USFL.

Now, that's fine and all, but what he said truly motivates him is continuing to be a symbol of community pride for Oak Grove.

Last Friday, while posted in a Greyhound Arena classroom, Craten thumbed through his iPhone and showed a reporter the flood of congratulations from residents back in Oak Grove.

Instagram was an endless stream of people "hearting" his story. Facebook was replete with comments and people reposting him. And his iMessage was dotted with compliments from family, friends and coaches.

"Datta boy," read a text from a former high school coach.

"When you do well, and you get your name called a lot in high school football at Oak Grove, the people in the community know who you are, and they want you to do well," said Dustin Strickland, who became a father figure to Craten his sophomore year of high school.

The higher Craten climbs, the more college scouts will be inclined to check out Oak Grove. What's more, younger generations can be inspired to realize their potential and seek a world beyond the town tucked in front of an oasis of corn fields.

"It's not a lot of money to make. I'm being straight up," Craten said of Oak Grove. Though it's a town he loves deeply, he said most people find work at "Sonic, Dollar General, Chicken Basket, Mac's (Fresh Market) ... a car dealership, movie theater, and that's about it."

That said, the simplicity of rural, country life formed his care-free, charismatic personality.

Asked about what he did in his younger days, Craten lit up while describing the Louisiana phenomenon mud riding.

According to Craten, this is where you rev up "a four-wheeler or a side-by-side, and you go find a big hole of mud, and just go in there and just go crazy."

Then there was his career as an amateur fish farmer through trips to the nearby town of Delhi.

"We'll catch a fish and take the fish and put it in their pond, and then we'll catch another one and take that fish and put it in their pond and expect them to have babies," Craten beamed. "We tried to make it where there were a lot of fish so we could go fishing."

As football goes, Craten enjoyed it, but didn't take it seriously until the offseason entering his junior year. At the time, Craten was 5-feet-7 inches, 160-pounds and showed little potential. 

Over the next several months, he said he worked out relentlessly and ate enough Slim Jims, chocolate and Airhead Bites to bulk up to 220 pounds. In 2020, his junior season, he became OGHS' fullback and helped guide it to its first state title since 2001. From there, he became a symbol of pride. 

The following summer, while working as a carhop at Sonic, customers would greet him warmly and passing cars blared endearing honks. 

"They want you to do well, and they're going to help you out as far as pepping you up, talking to you, coming to see you, pushing you," Strickland said of Oak Grove locals.

Following his senior year, where he led OGHS to another state title – the school's first time going back-to-back – Craten received a scholarship offer from Division II Mississippi College where he'd go on to commit. 

The goal was to get a degree and notch two solid years to explore post-college opportunities, be it XFL or USFL. That looked likely at the beginning of his junior year in 2023 when he led the conference in rushing yards.

But following an injury to the team's quarterback, which forced the team to switch from triple-option to spread, Craten's touches became limited and he plunged into irrelevance.

As a result, he entered the transfer portal. 

"My confidence was really, really, really low ... because I knew what I was capable of, and I just kind of felt like I was getting overlooked," Craten said. 

According to Strickland, Craten reached out to then-ENMU running backs coach Edgar Weiser, who initially recruited Craten to play for Mississippi College. Eager to play in ENMU's triple-option, Craten gave a verbal commitment and that remained even when Weiser left for Division II Carson-Newman in Tennessee. 

"He wanted to show his commitment. They took a chance on him, and he was gonna show him that they picked right," Strickland said. 

But did Craten pick right?

That didn't feel like the case initially. 

Portales felt like a polar opposite of Oak Grove. It lacked fried catfish, gumbo, family and someone – anyone – to hang out with.

"I just kind of got into the stage where I was like, 'What am I doing here?'" said Craten, who spent weekend nights alone. "I really stuck that in my head, and that's when I was just like, 'Yeah, I think I need to go.'"

Then, one day, Craten said he reached out to redshirt junior quarterback Mario Sanchez to play video games. While hanging out, Craten told Sanchez he "wasn't happy" and was strongly considering leaving. Sanchez listened to his frustrations and helped convince him to stay after they exchanged their goals and expectations for the upcoming season. 

From there, instead of his Louisiana roots painting him as an outsider, he's embraced them. 

Craten said he got other Hounds to start doing the jig: A Louisiana-based dance where one "Billy bounces their knees" and hits their "heels to the ground" to thumping Louisiana hip-hop music. 

"After that, we just connected and got closer," Craten said. "Now we are like brothers."

The bonds, coupled with a grueling offseason, all culminated into last Thursday night's demonstrative performance against New Mexico Highlands. 

He rushed for 113 of the Hounds' 510 rushing yards and totaled two of their nine touchdowns. 

Though encouraging, Craten can't stop now. ENMU is still slated to face each of the six teams picked to finish above it in the Lone Star Conference. What's more, one good game won't be enough to convince scouts he can be a difference maker at the next level. 

Beyond that, he still has a city to make proud. 

"It's definitely in my blood," Craten said of his Oak Grove identity. "Wherever I go I'm definitely gonna take it with me."