Michael Crabtree
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Michael Crabtree (Born September 14, 1987, in Dallas, TX) plays wide receiver for the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the NCAA college football tournament. Crabtree has had a very explosive year as a redshirt freshman, shattering several records in just his rookie playing year in college. Crabtree is believed to be playing the best freshman season of any receiver in college football history. Halfway through the season, the 6-foot-3, 208-pound Crabtree has already broken N.C.A.A. Division I freshman record for touchdown receptions in a season and has almost broken the record for touchdown catches in a season, held by two players, one of whom is the future Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Crabtree continues to lead the nation in receptions and receiving yards as his maiden college football year draws to a close.
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Personal Life
Michael is one of Bessie Turner and Michael Crabtree's six children. He has three brothers and two sisters and is related to former Tech All-American running back Ricky Williams. When he is not on the field, Michael enjoys watching movies and cutting hair. According to his father, Michael played flag football game when he was still 5, scoring a touchdown on his first carry after barreling through a defender at the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately, the game ended up to be his last as his father was worried he might hurt other kids. As a sixth-grader, Michael accounted for five touchdowns in a game where he played five different positions (quarterback, receiver, running back, defensive back and kickoff returner).
High School
Crabtree excelled in both basketball and football in D.W. Carter High School in Dallas, Texas. As a senior playing hoops, Crabtree was a versatile baller who averaged 20.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Texas Tech assistant coach Pat Knight, who with the Red Raiders' basketball coaching staff would've made Crabtree as their top basketball recruit in 2006, said he once saw him score 44 points in an A.A.U. game. He was ranked among the state's top 50 basketball recruits.
On the football field, Crabtree attained the same amount of success, playing under his coach Allen Wilson as a quarterback. On his junior year, he rushed for 469 yards and seven touchdowns and completed 30-of-67 passes for 897 yards and eight touchdowns to go with an interception. As a senior, he carried the ball 100 times for 646 yards and 9 touchdowns and completed 45-of-100 passes for 870 yards and 11 scores. Crabtree finished his prep career as a Four-Star Recruit, ranked No.16 athlete nationally and No.91 overall prospect in Texas by Rivals.com. He was also the No. 10 overall prospect in Dallas area (Dallas Morning News) and was listed in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Fab 44.
College
Illinois, Michigan State and Kansas each offered Crabtree a scholarship as a quarterback. He however learned from his high school playing career that he was best fit as a wide receiver and chose to attend Texas Tech. Other schools that offered him scholarships were Baylor, Iowa, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M.
2006
Crabtree redshirted on his first year at Texas Tech. He dominated Thursday night football scrimmages and gave the Red Raider first-team defense problems while mimmicking the opposition's top receiver.
2007
Crabtree took over Texas Tech's starting spot at the z receiver position in his redshirt freshman year. He opened up the 2007 campaign against Southern Methodist where he caught 12 passes for 106 yards with three touchdowns in a 49-9 win. The following week against Texas-El Paso, Crabtree turned out another solid game with 15 catches for 188 yards with two touchdowns in the Red Raiders 45-31 victory then followed it up with 11 receptions for 244 yards and three scores against Rice. Texas Tech suffered its first loss against Oklahoma State, despite Crabtree's 237 yards on 14 catches for three TDs. The Red Raiders rebounded with a win over Northwestern State where Crabtree had 145 yards on eight receptions for three touchdowns in only two and a half quarters of playing time. Crabtree's first milestone happened against Iowa State where he broke the record for most TD receptions by a freshman receiver. He went on to finish that game with 10 receptions for 154 yards and three touchdowns. Crabtree played his first touchdown-less game of the season against Texas A&M, but had eight receptions and 170 catching yards. Another TD-less game ensued against Missouri, catching ten passes for 76 yards. Crabtree caught his 99th reception the following game against Colorado, which set records for most single-season receptions by a freshman in I-A, most single-season receptions by a Red Raider, and most single-season touchdowns by a Big 12 player. Crabtree also caught 4 passes for 61 yards against Baylor then added 9 catches for 195 yards with two TDs against Texas.
Despite two consecutive games without a score, Crabtree was ranked by CBS Sports as one of the top freshman in the nation and is the only freshman on the 2007 Maxwell Award semifinalist list. For awhile, Crabtree and teammate Graham Harrell were also mentioned as Heisman contenders.
Highlights
| Michael Crabtree Highlight Reel. A brief showcase of the redshirt freshman's breakthrough season. |
Achievements
- 2007 Maxwell Award semifinalist
- 2007 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (09.17)
References
- 70 Receptions, 17 Touchdowns and 2 Sports
- Michael Crabtree Texas Tech Profile
- Michael Crabtree Wikipedia
- Tech's Crabtree quick to catch on
