Crabtree Out to Prove People Wrong
Former Dallas Carter quarterback following in Jerry Rice's footsteps as 49er
By ADAM BOEDEKER
Updated 7:02 AM CST, Wed, Apr 29, 2009
After winning back-to-back Biletnikoff Awards, presented to the nation's top wide receiver in college football, former Dallas Carter and Texas Tech standout Michael Crabtree had done just about everything there is to do individually in college football, short of winning the Heisman.
After declaring for the draft following his redshirt sophomore season at Tech, Crabtree was picked No. 10 overall by the San Francisco 49ers, where he'll learn from one of the all-time great receivers in Isaac Bruce and try to live up to the legend of the game's greatest receiver of all time, former 49ers great Jerry Rice.
His day on Saturday in New York also included a bit of a shock, when Oakland passed on Crabtree to take another receiver with the seventh overall pick in Darius Heyward-Bay, and don't think he will forget about it, as he told The Dallas Morning News.
"I still feel like I'm the top receiver," Crabtree told Chuck Carlton. "I don't really pay any attention to what everyone else does."
There's no doubt Crabtree was the best. He compiled 231 catches in two seasons in Tech's pass-happy offense. He was the No. 1 player on many teams' draft boards, regardless of position, but he had a rough couple of weeks leading up to the draft.
First, there was a trip to Cleveland, who held the fifth pick, when Crabtree disappointed Cleveland officials, who called him immature and rude. Then, there was an ESPN interview, where many people felt Crabtree came off cocky.
Some big-named bloggers have even gone as far as to call Crabtree the next big diva in professional football, bunking the very comparison to Rice that many will automatically make just because of the red and gold.
While it's true Crabtree only has two years under his belt at wide receiver (after playing quarterback in high school) and he does have a lingering foot/ankle injury, the positives far outweigh the negative. He's a precise route runner, has great hands and loves to put his body on the line and block downfield, something divas don't do.
Will he live up to his expectations the 49ers and the San Francisco fanbase have for him? Count me as someone who votes a resounding "yes".
Adam Boedeker is a sports writer/award-winning blogger for the Denton Record-Chronicle. He's a hooper, hyper, protected by Viper.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Apr 28, 2009 6:22 PM CST
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