SMU has snagged one of the best-looking football recruits in the country, but it has nothing to do with his time in the 40.
Myles Crosby, a 6-3, 205-pound safety from Colleyville (Texas) Heritage is also a rising star as a model. He's modeled for Calvin Klein and his image has been featured in GQ, Esquire and Vanity Fair.
He's ranked as the No. 11 male model in the world by Models.com, but Crosby is putting a lucrative career on hold to play football at SMU.
"I have a passion for football and I want an education," Crosby told The Dallas Morning News. "This modeling crap could only last another year and then I'd have no education and never get to play football. I'd regret it for the rest of my life."
Crosby isn't just a pretty face. Last season he totaled 108 tackles with 13 pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
"The stereotypical model is a lot softer than I am," Crosby told The News.
Crosby, 17, first made a splash in the modeling scene a year ago when his mother, a professional photographer, sent some photos to an agent.
It's not the first time a football player has earned fame and fortune with what he's got behind the facemask. In 1997, Marty Cherry, then a backup quarterback at the University of Texas, was spotted by an agent on television while he stood on the sidelines of a blowout loss to UCLA. Cherry gave up football to pursue a successful career in modeling.
Crosby is giving up modeling, at least for the time being, to pursue football. Gerald Frankowski of the Kim Dawson modeling agency told The Morning News that Crosby could "easily" make six figures if he devoted himself to modeling full time.
"I'm told I'm so stupid by every single person," Crosby said. "That every single person in my shoes should drop out of school now and go make the money."
Crosby, who will sign a national letter of intent with SMU on Wednesday, would rather chase running backs than strut runways.
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire
