FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- When Isaiah Crowell scored his second touchdown last Thursday night on national TV, his old college coach did some crowing on social media.

"The CROW got as much talent as any RB in the NFL," former Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said on his Facebook page, posted at 9:23 p.m.

And then ...

Crowell punctuated No. 2 with No. 2. He pretended to defecate in the end zone, then wiped his rear end with the ball and fired it into the crowd. The crude celebration, which resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, overshadowed the touchdown itself. Later, he received an earful from New York Jets coach Todd Bowles.

"As a coach, I'm thinking, 'Oh, man, I wish he hadn't done that,'" Barlow said in a phone interview. "If he could do it over, he probably would. It's an opportunity to learn and be better from it."

In a way, the sequence typified Crowell's career. He's a gifted player, a former five-star recruit who was supposed to become the next great running back at the University of Georgia. But he has had occasional lapses that have people thinking he's a Crow that has left the flock.

After a terrific freshman year, he was dismissed from school when police discovered a concealed gun in his car. He was charged with two felonies, including possession of a weapon in a school zone. In 2016, after two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, he sparked a controversy when he posted on his Instagram account an illustration of a police officer being stabbed in the neck by a hooded figure. It was his response to the fatal shootings of two black men by Dallas police officers. A day later, five officers were killed by sniper fire.

And yet ...

Crowell is a hero in Columbus, Georgia, where children and underprivileged families in his hometown have benefited from his free football camps, church donations and turkey giveaways on Thanksgiving. Heck, he even gave money to a local barber shop so 25 kids could get free haircuts.

"Everybody in Columbus knows Isaiah Crowell," said Jets linebacker Jordan Jenkins, who played at a neighboring high school before meeting him at Georgia.

Crowell is an enigma, and his personality was on display when he scored against his former team. He was the Browns' leading rusher for three years, and yet they decided to take a pass when he became a free agent in March. So maybe his distasteful celebration was fueled by redemption. Maybe it was a message to the city of Cleveland.

Or maybe it was none of that. Crowell said it was just a moment of "passion," claiming it wasn't directed at the Cleveland fans.

"I was just having fun," he told ESPN. "You gotta have fun. If you're not having fun with what you do, you might as well stop doing it. That's how I feel about it."

Back home in Georgia, his mother watched the game with a house full of friends. She didn't approve.

"Well, I did not like it as a mother," Debbie Crowell said in a phone interview. "I was literally shocked. Isaiah is such a mild-mannered person; he usually doesn't do much celebrating. I've never seen him go to that extreme. I was like, 'Oh, my God.' I had a crowd of people in the house. He told me it just happened in the heat of the moment. As a mother, I wish he hadn't done it."

Crowell acknowledged it was "bad for the team," and he's sorry he angered his coach. Until that moment, he had been a model teammate, quiet and hard working. He's already one of their best players, as he leads the team in touchdowns (four) and rushing yards (171). He considers himself one of the most underrated players in the NFL. Since 2015, he has produced six plays of at least 50 yards, tied for the most among running backs.

He appeared destined for stardom at a young age. A legendary high school player, he drew the attention of every big school, finally picking Georgia in a live announcement on ESPN. Playing to the cameras in his made-for-TV moment, he actually held up a real English bulldog at his news conference. The dog was dressed in a red Georgia sweater.

As a freshman, Crowell rushed for 850 yards and five touchdowns. Barlow, a former NFL player and the current Virginia State coach, said his former player was on track to become a first-round draft pick.

"If Crow hadn't left, would Todd Gurley be Todd Gurley?" asked Jenkins, referring to the current Los Angeles Rams' star who arrived in Athens in 2012. "I always wonder what would've happened if Crow was there."

Crowell didn't leave; he was booted from the school after the gun arrest. There were other incidents, including a one-game suspension for reportedly failing a drug test. One NFC scout, plugged into the Georgia program, said Crowell was "an arrogant and selfish kid." He was so unreliable in high school, the scout said, that an assistant coach was assigned to drive him to the game every Friday night.

The gun arrest, Crowell said, was a reality check.

"The hardest moment was while I was at Georgia and getting kicked out," he said. "I had a gun and stuff like that. My dad told me, if you go somewhere and you feel like you need a gun, you don't need to be there. It was like I was hanging in the wrong places. I had to get away and get to a better environment. That was a wake-up call for me."

Crowell was dismissed on his grandmother's 90th birthday.

"It humbled him," Debbie Crowell said.

That entire year -- 2012 -- was a turning point in his life. Crowell says he believes he was molded by tragedy, and he was hit hard that year. His nephew, Steven Lorenzo Miles, died Feb. 7 of sickle-cell disease at the age of 17. He and Miles were very close. There's a tattoo on the back of Isaiah's neck that says, "RIP Steven Lorenzo Miles."

On Dec. 21, a close friend from middle school, Brittany Meredith, died from brain trauma after a car accident.

"All of us were close," Crowell said. "That was a tough year."

And a bittersweet year, because his son, Jaedyn, was born on Sept. 9. To remind him of the life-changing events, Crowell has a tattoo with "2012" across four fingers -- one digit on each digit.

"A lot of negative things impacted his life that year," his mother said. "That year was a struggle. It turned him around and made him a better person."

Crowell transferred to Alabama State, where he rushed for nearly 2,000 yards in two seasons. He was on the NFL's radar, but he went undrafted because of character issues. He signed with the Browns, thankful for the opportunity. Anything to get out of Columbus, where violence and drugs were part of his community's fabric.

"I mean, that's all there is down there," he said. "It teaches you how to respect yourself and everybody around you, and mind your business. It teaches you a lot about how to be a man and how to survive, basically. If you go anywhere else, I mean, you'd be able to survive just because of the fact that you've already been in the worst. You know what I'm saying?"

Crowell still loves his hometown, and that's why he tries to give back. He's a "very caring person," Barlow said. A Browns source called Crowell a hard-working player who came in on his off days to study pass-protection schemes with the quarterbacks and linemen.

But that blue-collar image took a hit with his insensitive social post of the police officer. He apologized, admitting he made "an extremely poor decision." To back it up, he donated his first game check that year ($35,294) to the Dallas Fallen Officers Foundation.

"I grew up around violence," Crowell said. "It molded me to know I needed to get away from that and do something with my life. That's what my dad always told me. I needed to grow up, and that I had a chance to be somebody. That's not how I wanted my life to be."