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.

The Cotton Bowl is just a few days away and will be played on January 2nd in Dallas, Texas. The Cotton Bowl is almost like a homecoming game for Texas Tech, who will be facing Mississippi. This will be the first time in Michael Crabtree’s career that he is playing against an SEC school.

Crabtree was on the injury report at the end of the regular season, but with 30+ days off he’ll be rested and ready to roll. He hasn’t had a 100 yard receiving game since November 1 against Texas. If Crabtree wants to go pro he’ll give it all he’s got in the Cotton Bowl to impress the scouts.

When asked about the NFL Crabtree responded, “I’m not worried about that right now. I’m worried about this Cotton Bowl. I choose not to think about anything else.”

Texas Tech is favored in this game, but don’t think they’ll run away with it. Ole Miss is a very good team, don’t forget they handed Florida their only loss. The Rebels play tough, pressure defense and will rush Graham Harrell like it’s nobody’s business. He’ll need to get the ball off quickly and find his best playmaker, Crabtree.

My prediction: Crabtree goes 8 receptiond 110 yards and 2 touchdowns.

With all the talk on this blog about Michael Crabtree getting a shot at the Heisman, we kind of pushed aside the Biletnikoff. Well, Crabtree (and Harrell for that matter) were not invited to NYC for the Heisman Ceremony tomorrow night. Crabtree said he was surprised by the news the day before that teammate Harrell hadn’t been invited to the Heisman ceremony.

“I was really shocked,” Crabtree said. “He’s alright. ..I said, ‘Let’s go out there and play in the bowl game.”

Thankfully, the Heisman isn’t the only award around here.

Texas Tech sophomore Michael Crabtree became the first two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award, presented to the top wide receiver in the nation. Crabtree, who earned the honor Thursday night, beat Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant and Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin for the award.

During this past season, Crabtree had 93 receptions for 1,135 yards with 18 touchdowns, tied for second-most in the country.

The defining moment of Crabtree’s season came November 1 when he caught a 28- yard touchdown pass from Graham Harrell with one second remaining to give the Red Raiders a 39-33 win over then-No. 1 Texas.

“It was a great year to be around here,” said Crabtree. “I feel like we had fun. That’s what counts.”

The father of Texas Tech All-America wide receiver Michael Crabtree said the family took out a $1 million insurance policy on his son before this season.

“We got that $1 million policy that covers you in case you get injured,” Michael Crabtree Sr. said Friday afternoon. “We got it through the NCAA.”

In 1990, the NCAA implemented the Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance program. The program states that it enables qualifying student-athletes — as approved by the program administrators — to purchase a disability insurance contract with pre-approved financing, if necessary.

Though they’ve been around for almost 20 years, insurance policies for collegiate athletes became famous when Willis McGahee blew out his knee five years ago or so in the final game of his college career. College football is like that though… you can be a star 1 minute, and then in 1 play have your entire career jeopardized… costing you millions of dollars in the NFL Draft.

Michael Crabtree himself hasn’t said much about declaring for the NFL. His father though seems to be doing a lot of talking. “At first he said he was going to declare, but I don’t know what he’s doing now,” the elder Crabtree said of his son’s NFL aspirations. “I think he’ll put his name out there and see.”

I would still say there’s a 99% chance that he is going to the NFL.

Michael Crabtree told Red Raider Sports yesterday that he plans to come back for his junior season. Hard to believe right? Well, here’s the quote.

“Yeah,” he responded when asked if he would be returning for his junior season.

But surely, there must be some consideration of entering the NFL?

“No, not at all,” responded Crabtree when asked that question.

“I’m taking every game like I did last year, one game at a time. I’m really not worried too much about the future right now because that’s out of my reach. I’m just worried about what I can control, and that’s college football.”

I don’t buy for one second that Michael Crabtree wants to return to Texas Tech for another season. He does know that he’ll be a Top 10 pick in the NFL Draft next year and in 2010 there may be a rookie cap? Gotta come out now while the guaranteed millions are there.

Sure we all wish he would stay so we can enjoy watching him play another season and break even more records, but he needs to do what’s best for himself and his family. These guys only have so many years they can play football… get the money while it’s there.