Michael Crawford has always been a fighter.

At times, that trait has served him well, beginning 21 years ago when he was born 2 1/2 months premature. At times, it has been a detriment, as was the case when Crawford got into too many scrapes at Canton Middle School and was suspended for several months in the eighth grade.

Eventually, Crawford kept his battles confined to the football field or the classroom, and he has won most of them. Now in his fourth year as a member of the Virginia Tech football team, Crawford awaits the possibility of his biggest fight to date.

Against cancer.

While tests and procedures during the past month have been inconclusive, doctors in Blacksburg, Va., and Baltimore have determined that a lymph node in Crawford's neck could be cancerous. A final determination is not expected for several weeks.

Meanwhile, Crawford continues to play for the Hokies, who meet No. 1 Miami today at the Orange Bowl. Since getting back the results of the first tests in early November, the junior has missed only one game, a home loss to West Virginia. He returned for last week's victory over in-state rival Virginia.

"It's good to get back to my regular routine and keep playing ball; it's something I love to do," said Crawford, who has started eight games this season at rover back, the strong safety in Virginia Tech's defense. He has 42 tackles, including two sacks, as well as a fumble recovery in a win at Texas A&M.;

"A lot of people weren't expecting me to make it this far," he said. "I've been dealing with adversity all through my life. That really doesn't bother me. You have to fight through it."

Ever since Iantha Butler's oldest child came into the world weighing a little over 2 pounds with underdeveloped lungs, ever since he stopped breathing and doctors revived him during the infant's two months at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Crawford has fought back.

"Michael isn't just a fighter, he's a conqueror," Butler said this week from work at Mercy Hospital, where she has a job in medical records.

Fighting is what almost derailed Crawford's dreams to become a professional football player. After getting thrown out of middle school, Crawford worked at a fast-food restaurant and then wound up in "Twilight School," an afternoon school for adolescents trying to straighten out their lives.

"It made me appreciate going to school with everyone else, and it made me work harder," Crawford said. "I realized that if I didn't get back in regular school, I wouldn't be able to get a good job, I wouldn't graduate if I kept on the road I was going. It turned out to be a positive change for me."

Crawford entered Patterson High School midway through his freshman year, and joined his friends on the JV football team as a sophomore. A 5-foot-10, 175-pound receiver, he grew an inch to his current height and put on 30 pounds as a junior. He moved to defense and was first-team All-City as a senior.

Recruited by a number of high-profile programs, Crawford chose Virginia Tech, joining a pipeline of Baltimore-area players. Another appeal was the program's success in sending rover backs to the NFL. The last three Hokies who played the position before Crawford are all in the pros, most notably Indianapolis Colts strong safety Cory Bird.

"Mike's one of those guys who has willed himself into being a good football player," said veteran assistant Jim Cavanaugh, who coaches Virginia Tech's defensive backs. "He doesn't have any one quality that makes him outstanding. He has a great work ethic."

Crawford was in the midst of another solid season for the then unbeaten Hokies when he came down with an upper respiratory infection in mid-October. He seemed to respond to antibiotics, but after the infection cleared up, doctors discovered that one lymph node was still swollen.

'The suspicions are high, but we have not confirmed the diagnosis," Dr. Gunnar Brolinson, the Virginia Tech team physician, said earlier this week from Blacksburg. 'The lymph node was harder, a little more rubbery, high index of suspicion."

Shuttling back and forth between Blacksburg and Baltimore for lab work, X-rays, a CT scan and two biopsies, Crawford finds himself physically drained sometimes. He lost 11 pounds but said he has since gained most of it back and is 2 pounds under his playing weight of 206.

What he hasn't lost is his tremendous religious faith.

"I believe that anything God has for me, with His help I'll deal with it accordingly," Crawford said. "I'm really not worried about. If I have cancer, I do. If I don't I don't and I'm happy, as well. I'm going to take the necessary and proper steps to get better and get back on the football field and also get my degree."

Crawford, who has a year's eligibility remaining, hopes to get his degree in financial planning next December.

Said Butler, the player's mother: "He pretty much knows that his faith will lead him through. One of his brothers was in a bad go-cart accident a couple of years ago and the doctors thought they lost him, too. But he pulled through. Michael's main words are usually, 'It's all good.' "

Even if the tests confirm the doctors' suspicions of lymphoma, Crawford plans on taking treatment while going to class and playing football. Doctors are optimistic that if it is lymphoma, they have caught it early enough for Crawford to recover.

Brolinson believes that staying active is the best thing for Crawford, or any patient, to do.

"In almost every case, the more engaged the individual can stay in respect to their daily routine, in general the better off they are," Brolinson said.

"The football team is like a family; they spend a lot of time together. There are a lot of people who care very deeply about Michael. He's an extremely well-liked, upbeat, fun-to-be-around guy. In general, in these types of situations, the more involved and plugged in they can stay, the better off they are."

Crawford has drawn support from his immediate family back in Baltimore - his mother and four younger siblings - as well as from current and former members of the Virginia Tech team. Several ex-Hokies have called Crawford in recent weeks, including Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

Cavanaugh said few around the team are surprised that Crawford has continued to practice and play through his ordeal.

"That's how Mike is. That's been Mike's attitude from Day One since he came here as a freshman," Cavanaugh said.

Said Brolinson, "He's always been a very upbeat guy."

Crawford can't wait to buckle his chinstrap against the Hurricanes, hoping to come up big and possibly alter the national championship picture just a bit. For at least one day, he is putting his biggest fight on the backburner.

"I told [doctors] I didn't want to take any other tests until after Miami," Crawford said. "I love playing against Miami."