Crochunis does more than tackle opponents

A long time ago, in a high school lunchroom far, far away, Pitt senior defensive lineman Vince… A long time ago, in a high school lunchroom far, far away, Pitt senior defensive lineman Vince Crochunis let out a loud, boisterous bellow.

It wasn’t because the lunch lady burned the food or because an underclassman sat in his seat. He and his friends were doing their best Tarzan impersonations, but Crochunis didn’t sound like Tarzan. He sounded exactly like Star Wars’ Chewbacca.

“The funny thing is,” teammate Rob Petitti joked, “he kind of looks like him [too].”

It’s no joke. Crochunis does have some of the same characteristics that a Wookiee would have.

“Well, I got hairy arms and legs,” Crochunis said. “I don’t have the long head like Chewbacca.”

According to teammates, he’s a character, but when it comes to the Wookiee call, he doesn’t do it as often as he used to.

“He’s kind of hard to get to do it,” teammate and roommate Matt Maiers said. “It’s a rare thing anymore.”

He gets asked everywhere to shout out his Chewbacca growl. He’ll walk into a party and hear his name called out with the Chewbacca request soon to follow.

Several other impersonations flow out of his mouth. In practice, he’ll often imitate coaches and rip other players.

“It’s just about having fun,” he said. “For them times when it gets too serious and people need to lighten up a little, I’ll just do something fun here and there.”

But during an actual game is another story.

Maiers thought Crochunis was going to growl loudly after he recovered a fumble a few years ago, but he didn’t.

Why wouldn’t he? It would be a great celebration if he could sack a quarterback and let out a loud Wookiee call. He has his reasons, though.

“Chewie takes a lot of breath,” Crochunis explained, smiling big. “I don’t try to waste my energy.”

But would he do it in a game once for The Pitt News readers around the nation?

“OK, sure.”