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.

Nearly every mock draft you see, they have Michael Crabtree going to Seattle. The Seahawks lack a big play wide receiver for Matt Haselbeck to throw to. Hasselbeck always seems to put up big numbers, but he spreads the ball around in that west coast offense. He needs a true No. 1.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer wrote an article about the prospect of bringing Michael Crabtree in. You can read the article here.

For some reason I don’t think the Seahawks will take Crabtree. I think they’ll go with a tackle, or possibly a quarterback depending on who goes ahead of them. Crabtree may drop to the Raiders or Jaguars.

Michael Crabtree announced officially nnounced he will enter the NFL Draft in April 2009. We’ve talked about this a lot over the past few weeks and I really feel like he’s making a wise decision. Two years of college football, two years of being chosen the best receiver in the country. There wasn’t much left for Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree to accomplish. Maybe a Big 12 Championship… but really, that won’t help his draft stock.

His career totals of 231 catches for 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns would be remarkable over three or four years. Compiled over only two years, it’s no wonder he was an All-American both seasons and was a two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver. He was fifth in voting for the Heisman Trophy this past season.

“I feel like the next level will be a big challenge for me and I’m looking forward to it,” Crabtree said. “It was hard when I was little. Money was a big problem. I feel like this was the best decision.”

Michael said he has heard he will be a top 5 pick and that’s what he’s going for.

“The main thing is, it’s work. It’s your job now,” Crabtree said. “You’ve got to wake up every day working.”

I want to wish Crabtree all the luck in the world at the next level. Rookie receivers rarely blow up in the NFL. It may take him a few years to adjust.

A lot of experts picked Ole Miss to beat Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl… and they were right. The Rebels handed the Red Raiders a 47-34 beatdown in Texas Stadium. Michael Crabtree was almost non-existent, grabbing only 4 balls for 30 yards (though one was for a touchdown). He kept coming in and out of the game and couldn’t establish any momentum.

“Crabtree was a little bumped up today. I think that hurt him,” Tech quarterback Graham Harrell said. “He got his eye poked and couldn’t really see out of one eye. His eye looked bad. His ankle is a little bummed. It was just a tough day.”

The loss isn’t solely on the back of Crabtree. He played hard, the team as a whole was just out-played by Ole Miss.We did get a note from Crabtree’s father though about the injury:

“We’re just trying to see what’s wrong with it,” Michael Crabtree Sr. said. “We need to find a specialist so we can get it properly rehabbed.”

This was probably the last game we will see Michael Crabtree in college. It’s a shame he couldn’t go out on a high note.