Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree was the lone player to receive a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team. Crabtree, the 2007 Biletnikoff Award winner, set NCAA freshman records in receptions (134), receiving yards (1,962) and receiving touchdowns (22) last season and led the country in each. The sophomore was a unanimous consensus All-American in 2007 and was one of eight players such honored across the country. Already a preseason Playboy All-American, Crabtree has been named to several first teams during the summer.

This just proves that Michael Crabtree will be watched by everyone this season. His entire future will be riding on his 2008 performance. He can’t help all the media hype, but if he’s smart and plays well he can parlay it into a very high draft position in the NFL Draft.

The Sunday Morning Quarterback wrote up a very long article on what Red Raider fans can expect from their team in 2008. You can read the entire article here. But if you’re interested in only what they had to say about Michael Crabtree, then here’s an excerpt:

Obviously, to say Michael Crabtree took the Big 12 by storm or something would be an understatement. He set freshman records for everything, came pretty close to setting national records for everything, regardless of class, and won the Biletnikoff Award. Better defenses caught on later in the year and held him somewhat in check –– 17 touchdowns in the first six games declined to five TDs in the last seven –– and there was the flatly dropped touchdown on fourth down that would have beaten Oklahoma State, after he’d caught three scores earlier in the game. But Crabtree still had 64 catches in those last seven, dominated Texas and Oklahoma (21 for 349 and 3 TDs in back-to-back games) and is a good bet to go toward the top of next year’s draft, if he wants. All things considered, the best receiver in the country.

This came from a piece on who the best player is, that’s why it starts out with “Obviously.” There’s no doubt Red Raider fans are expecting big things from their team. Some ESPN experts are even picking them for the Sugar Bowl.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders are known for running a pass heavy offense. Quarterback Graham Harrell threw the ball 713 times during the 2007 season. Compare that to Heisman winner Tim Tebow’s 350 attempts, Chase Daniel’s 452 attempts, or John David Booty’s 436 attempts. The Red Raiders clearly love to launch the ball up and down the field.

So that begs the question, is Michael Crabtree is a “product of the system”? Would Crabtree be as dominant a wide receiver if he played for another team, like the Miami Hurricanes or Florida State Seminoles?

I think answer is somewhat of a yes/no. Yes Crabtree benefits from the pass-heavy system he is in, but also he is a very talented and gifted wide receiver. Let’s not forget that he was on of the most highly recruited players out of high school and put up nearly 2,000 yards receiving as a true freshman. I believe he could have succeeded in any system on any team. He may have had a ton of catches and yards, but his average per catch was still only 14.6 yards. That’s less then Limas Sweed and Mario Manningham’s YPC, and comparable to Percy Harvin’s 14.5.

A true measure of how great Michael Crabtree really is, will be if he can increase his yards per catch in 2008 to something like 16.0 ypc. If given the same number of receptions, he could break the single season NCAA receiving yards record (2060 yards).

Because Michael Crabtree red-shirted his freshman year, he can technically leave for the NFL after the upcoming 2008 season. Players need to be out of high school for 3 seasons before they can enter the draft. There’s no doubt in my mind that Crabtree will go pro after the 2008 season, but let’s take a look at a couple of things that might cause him to stay.

1. Injury – If Michael Crabtree suffers a knee or ankle injury that causes him to miss significant time, he may consider staying for one more season. If would have to be an injury bad enough to knock him out of the first round in the draft.

2. Close to a Championship – If Texas Tech is somehow extremely close to a National Championship and they feel they’ll have a legitimate shot in 2009 to win it all, then he may stay for another season. Remember Matt Leinart stayed for his senior year to chase a championship.

3 Academics – Maybe Michael Crabtree is unlike any other college athlete and wants to actually stay in college to receive a degree?

Honestly, there really aren’t that many things that could keep him here for another year. The millions of dollars has a big draw on college athletes. They want to take the money while it’s there. I’m guessing a very serious injury is the only thing that could keep him in a Red Raider uniform for 2008 and 2009.

The image to your right of Texas Tech superstar wide receiver Michael Crabtree does look convincing, he is in fact no on the cover of EA’s NCAA Football 2009. Darren McFadden has that honor. EA is actually not allowed to feature current NCAA players on the cover of their games. They must wait till they turn pro. But thanks to a program like Photoshop, we can have some fun and put Crabtree on the cover. Maybe some day it will be real.

Like 90% of men in college, Michael Crabtree loves to play video games. I mean, how awesome would it be playing NCAA Football 2009 and getting to control yourself. When controlling the quarterback I’m sure he only picks passing plays and makes sure the target receiver is himself. I bet Crabtree has some sick stats in that game.

I don’t really have much else to say. I just found this cool picture of Michael Crabtree on the cover of the game and needed an excuse to post about it.

A fan from Bleacher Report said, “One might say that Biletnikoff Award-winner Michael Crabtree is a product of Mike Leach’s pass-happy system. But the 6’3”, 208-pound wide receiver is also a physical specimen with great hands and play-making ability.

Crabtree did finish off the 2007 season with some insane numbers. He had 134 catches for 1962 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. Anyone with gawdy numbers like that is not merely a product of the system. You have to have talent. And not only does Crabtree have talent, he also has the perfect body type for a wide receiver (6′3″ 210 lbs). He has the size to body someone up at the line, and the speed to burn a corner on a fly route.

Sure Michael Crabtree has Senior Heisman candidate Graham Harrell throwing him the ball, but Texas Tech plays some fierce competition in the Big 12. It’s not a powder puff conference. He’ll be getting double teamed by some of the quickest CBs in the game. And even after all of that I still think he can put up huge numbers again.