Michael Crabtree has been one of the biggest stories of the NFL Combine this year. But it’s been for all the wrong reasons. Everyone is talking about his ‘injury’. Apparently Crabtree has a slight stress fracture in his left foot. It doesn’t bother him, but an injury could scare some NFL teams.

“It’s an old injury I’ve been having,” Crabtree said. “I’ve never had any pain in it. I will run my 40, and after that I’m going to do surgery. And I’m looking forward to going to the next level.”

Mike Mayock, scouting expert for the NFL Network, said he’s not sure that running is the right thing for Crabtree to do, but he respects his desire to compete.

“I think he’s trying to show people, ‘I’m not afraid to run,’ and I give him points for that,” Mayock said. “On the other hand, I have a feeling — and I don’t know — that his doctors and advisors are going to say, ‘Let’s rethink this thing. There’s enough tape out there on you. You’re a top-10 pick in everybody’s mind. You’re not all of a sudden going to become a third-round pick. Let’s just move forward.”

Crabtree proved what he can do on the football field. I agree with Mayock that he probably shouldn’t run at the NFL Combine. There are dozens of players that skip the Combine all together, or don’t participate in all the events.

Michael Crabtree was one of the best wide receivers in college football the last two years, so why has he been spending time at the Michael Johnson Performance Center? You remember Michael Johnson right… the Olympic sprinter with the gold shoes. I guess the scouts seem to think Crabtree needs to work on his speed.

“The quickest way to understand Crabtree’s potential is to consider the possibility that he is the second-coming of Larry Fitzgerald,” NFL Draft Scout’s report of Crabtree begins. “There, it’s said. … He may not impress with his clock time in 40 yards, but neither did Fitzgerald or Jerry Rice.”

Michael Crabtree will be the first wide receiver taken in the NFL Draft, so teams will expect big things from him. No more WR busts like Reggie Williams, Mike Williams, and Charles Rodgers. The NFL needs a big time playmaker.

“[Crabtree] has got it,” said Lance Walker, the director for performance at the Michael Johnson Performance Center. “I’ve seen bursts of what he’s got. … Now, can we get him to funnel all that together for some silly 40-yard dash thing? I don’t know. I can tell you this: He’s not 4.55 on the field. There’s no way. The guys that know, they know what I’m talking about. There’s field speed, and there’s 40-yard dash speed.”

Today is National Signing Day for high school football players. Today is the day they officially sign the letter of intent to play for a specific school. While Michael Crabtree is off the the NFL, this day brings back memories of his decision to come play football at Texas Tech.

Crabtree was part of the 2006 recruiting class. Rivals had him ranked as a 4-star athlete and the 16th ranked player at his position. They may has missed the boat on this one. Crabtree has been the best WR in college football for the past two years.

Check out the list of players who were ranked higher then Crabtree coming out of high school. Of course Rivals listed him as an “athlete” and not assigned to any specific position. That’s because he played some QB and RB in high school.

Other college choices on Crabtree’s list included Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M… you think the Sooners would have liked having Crabtree on their roster this year?

In the end, Crabtree’s decision to come play at Texas Tech was one of the best decisions he could have made. They had a high flying offense led by a great college QB. And now he’ll be a top 5 pick in the NFL.