College Confidential

Leach said Michael Crabtree is not a diva

All the hullaboo leading up the NFL Draft about Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree acting like a diva on one of his pro interviews absolutely stunned Red Raiders coach Mike Leach.

"That doesn't even exist,'' Leach said. "That's really stupid, ignorant comments by individuals that don't know him.

"He's the farthest thing from (being a diva). The real Michael Crabtree is excited because he wants to be on you and force you to be a better player. That's Michael Crabtree.''

Leach blames Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini for starting the controversy and for Crabtree slipping to San Francisco with the No. 10th pick in this past Saturday's NFL Draft. The Browns reportedly didn't like Crabtree's attitude when he visited the team before the draft.

"Then the thing permeates a little bit,'' Leach said. "But suffice it to say I know Michael Crabtree.''

Crabtree was in Leach's program for three years _ one during his redshirt season and the past two years while he was twice an All-American on the Raiders' active roster.

While some draft experts had Crabtree being the best player in the entire draft, he wasn't even the first wide receiver drafted. That honor went to Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey, whom the Oakland Raiders used to draft No. 7 overall.

"I thought Crabtree was the best receiver in the draft, but receivers don't usually get drafted that high anyway,'' Leach said. "They select for the reasons the select and that's kind of why I don't spend a lot of time messing with the draft, because it's a collection of opinions that vary and contradict one another that I don't necesarily value to begin with.

"So why would I follow it with any interest? I don't, other than hoping for my guys to go and for them to make as much money as possible, and most importantly don't lose the perspective that it's important to make the team.''

-- Dwain Price

Mike Leach questions how the NFL drafts quarterbacks

After Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell surprisingly went undrafted this past weekend, Red Raiders coach Mike Leach questioned how the NFL evaluates college quarterbacks.

Harrell set all sorts of NCAA records this past season while leading Tech to an impressive 11-2 record, a Cotton Bowl berth and a share of the Big 12 South title with Oklahoma and Texas. But when the NFL had its annual draft this past weekend, Harrell went undrafted, and that infuriated Leach.

"I think everybody has different priorities at quarterback, and that's a position that the NFL drafts incredibly poorly,'' Leach said. "If you look at all the NFL teams, if they're any good at drafting quarterbacks, then every NFL quarterback that starts should be a first-round draft pick. But that's not the case but for a fraction of the teams.

"The reason is because they're not very good at accessing and selecting (quarterbacks). And it's really not possible to disagree with my opinion on this subject, because we're back at the thing I said at the beginning. If they were able to access this (quarterback) position, then how come a first-round pick isn't starting at quarterback on all the NFL teams?''

Harrell, who signed a free agent contract Monday with the Cleveland Browns, passed for 5,111 yards and 45 touchdowns this past season. That comes on the heels of the 2007 season when he passed for 5,705 yards and 48 TDs.

For his career, Harrell threw an NCAA record 134 touchdowns and passed for 15,793 yards. But none of those eye-popping stats apparently mattered to the NFL scouts, who questioned whether Harrell _ who worked mostly out of the spread offense at Tech _ could successfully make the transition and comfortably work while taking the snap from under center.

Leach also questioned how the Cowboys could use the first pick of the fourth round to draft Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee, who played in just six games and threw only two TDs this past season and for the Aggies

"They've got to make their decisions,'' Leach said of the Cowboys. "And then A&M, for what they tried to do offensively, played the other fella (quarterback Jerrod Johnson).

"Well, I can't really say anything's wrong. I watched them and you look at them and you decide what you need accomplished. But for what A&M is doing, I'm sure they made the right decision, because they watched the players and practices more than anybody else.''

Leach said everyone will find out in due time if the Browns are a perfect fit for Harrell, a 6-3, 205-pounder from Ennis. The Browns have wavered between starting Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn at quarterback, which could mean Harrell may have some opportunities in Cleveland.

"I think they'll probably want to throw the ball some, so I think that part is good,'' Leach said. "I just think the field of quarterbacks, there's not really anybody there that's really established as a guy or as a starter.

"So I think it's a really good opportunity for him to go in there and make some noise and show what he can do.''

-- Dwain Price

 

Nic Harris making transition from safety to linebacker

Even before anyone had a chance to tell him, Nic Harris is more than prepared to make the switch from safety to linebacker once he gets to the NFL.

Harris, 6-3, 230 pounds, was a solid safety while playing for Oklahoma. But when he was drafted Sunday by Buffalo on the fifth round, the Bills told him they plan on turning him into a linebacker.

It's a move, however, that doesn't bother Harris.

"It's a great opportunity to come out and play,'' Harris said. "I'm just one of those guys that whatever the coach wants me to do, I'm willing to take a shot at it.''

During his junior season two years ago at OU, Harris played so well that he was named first-team all-Big 12 by the conference coaches. And this past year he was fourth on the Sooners in tackles with 75.

Harris spent a lot of his individual workouts showing teams he could play safety with the best of them. And he also spent a lot of time showing other pro scouts he could play linebacker with the best of them.

For now, though, Harris doesn't believe he'll have a difficult time making the transition from safety to linebacker.

"I was one of those guys that would come down to the line of scrimmage and hide behind the middle linebacker to cover pretty much fly guys,'' Harris said of his playing days at OU. "Right now it’s going to be a different transition for me to move to fulltime linebacker.

"But like I said, at the beginning of the day I’m extremely elated for the opportunity to come out and play.''

_ Dwain Price 

Bears worked out OU's Juaquin Iglesias in Killeen

When Chicago Bears wide receiver coach Darryl Drake took the time to go to Killeen and personally work out Juaquin Iglesias a few weeks ago, the Oklahoma wide receiver knew there was a good chance the Bears would draft him.

And so they did, as the Bears drafted Iglesias in the third round of Sunday's NFL Draft.

Drake's appearance at his Iglesias' home convinced the 6-1, 210-pounder that the Bears were the team he wanted to play for.

"He treated me well, we got along together well,'' Iglesias said. "(Drake) really made me feel comfortable and that's the main reason why I wanted to go there.''

At OU, Iglesias is second on the team's all-time reception list with 202 catches, and second on its all-time receiving yardage list (2,821 yards). He also led the Sooners in receptions and yards in 2007 (68 for 907 yards) and 2008 (74 for 1,150 yards).

But you had a hard time convincing the average bystander that Iglesias was a major part of OU's high-powered offense. That's because he had to take a back seat to Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford and tight end Jermaine Gresham.

Bradford won the Heisman Trophy this past year and probably would have been the No. 1 overall pick in the draft had he decided to come out early. And Gresham was a first-team All-American this past season.

That left Iglegias to pick up the crumbs when it came to the publicity game at OU.

Asked if he was overlooked at OU, Iglesias said: "I think so, but I think every great team has role players. I definitely think I am a role player. I was a big role player.

"I had a big part of the offense, but....it's a big program and other people overshadow other people. That's just how the game is and that's how it was at Oklahoma. But it ended up good for me because I'm a strong player.''

Another strong player is quarterback Jay Cutler, whom the Bears acquired from Denver over the offseason. Going from catching passes from Bradford to now catching passes from Cutler makes Iglesias feels like he's a fortunate player.

"I just know he's a great quarterback,'' Iglesias said of Cutler. "He has a big arm and that's really it.

"I know he's my teammate and he's out there to be prepared and get to work. Hopefully it will work out. I think it will.'' 

Knowing Iglesias, it probably will work out. Just like Iglesias had a hunch it would work out that he would wind up with the Bears after the visit by Drake.

"The draft is a tricky thing,'' Iglesias said. "You never know when you are going to go. I was just waiting for my name to be called.''

_ Dwain Price

 

 

Going against Michael Crabtree helped Darcel McBath

Going against two-time All-American wide receiver Michael Crabtree all the time in those hotly-contested Texas Tech practices did wonders for free safety Darcel McBath.

While Crabtree was chosen No. 10 overall by San Francisco in Saturday's NFL Draft, McBath was taken No. 48 overall by the Denver Broncos. And McBath knows if he could hold his own against Crabtree, he sure can hold his own probably against any wide receiver the NFL has to offer.

"I think Crabtree was probably the best in the country, and I got the opportunity to go against him everyday and it made me better,'' McBath said. "Just getting that opportunity with a big physical receiver and the skill set that he had, it just made me better.”

McBath added that the pass-happy Red Raiders always put pressure on the secondary. And that kept him constantly busy in practice, since Tech usually flooded the airways with footballs.

“Playing against an offense like that, every receiver is good,'' McBath said. "We had to play the deep ball a lot and I got pretty good at that.

"I worked hard at it every day and my man-on-man skills got a lot better.''

_ Dwain Price

 

Sportswriter dissed by Texas Tech's Louis Vasquez

Less than one minute into my interview Sunday morning with Texas Tech offensive guard Louis Vasquez, another one of his telephone's rang and he told me: "Hold on one second, the Chargers are calling. Hold on one second.'

One second turned into one minute, two minutes. . .four minutes, fiive minutes. During the hold time, I surfed the Internet, listened to Mel Kiper Jr. yap, tweeted a couple of people (follow me), and checked my e-mail.

 Then, at the six-minute mark, I heard Vasquez tell that Chargers guy: "Hold on one second.'' One second later, MY phone line went dead.

Only in America will a football player hang up on a sportswriter to talk to a football coach _without telling the sportswriter that he's about to hang up on him.

I only wanted to congratulate Vasquez and interview him for being a third-round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers. Oh well, I guess that'll happen sometimes later.

Back to tweeting.

-- Dwain Price

Built Ram tough, Jason Smith makes transition from Baylor to St. Louis

Offensive tackle Jason Smith was very keen on making his transition from Baylor to the NFL as smooth and eventful as possible.

So three of the people who traveled to New York with him for Saturday's NFL Draft was Baylor coach Art Briles, offensive line coach Randy Clements and strength coach Kaz Kazadi. And when Smith got the  call from the St. Louis Rams that they were going to use the No. 2 overall pick to select him, quite naturally it wasn't Smith who answered the phone in the green room at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

“Coach Briles answered the phone and allowed me to talk to Mr. (Billy) Devaney, the GM of the Rams,'' Smith said. “They took my BU pin off and put the Rams pin on my suit coat.''

Briles appreciates what Smith (6-5, 309) has given the Baylor program.

“This is a great day for Jason Smith and his family and a great day for the Baylor family,'' Briles said. "Baylor football couldn’t have better representative of our program at that level than Jason Smith right now.

"The Rams got a tremendous football player and a tremendous person with passion and discipline.”

While Smith was glad to have his family on hand for his memorable day, the Dallas W.T. White High School graduate was equally touched that the three Baylor coaches were also by his side.

"I'm excited that I was handed over to the Rams the right way, Smith said. "That Coach Kaz, Coach Briles and Coach Clements were with me.

"To God be the glory. I'm built Ram tough.''

-- Dwain Price

Great draft day for Texas Tech

As far as the NFL Draft goes, Saturday was a great day if you are a Texas Tech Red Raider.

With wide receiver Michael Crabtree selected No. 10 overall by San Francisco and free safety Darcal McBath going to Denver with the No. 48th overall pick, this marks the highest two Texas Tech players have ever been chosen in the same NFL Draft.

"I'm loving it,'' McBath said.

While Crabtree is the highest drafted WR ever for Tech, McBath is the first Red Raider defensive back drafted since Kevin Curtis was chosen by San Francisco in the fourth round in 2002.

Also, besides the three players drafted from Missouri, Tech had more players -- Crabtree and McBath -- drafted in the first two rounds Saturday than any other team in the Big 12.

Must be the system. 

-- Dwain Price

Texas A&M may move 2009 football opener

Texas A&M is considering the possibility of delaying its 2009 football season opener against New Mexico by one day to make it a Sunday national telecast, athletic director Bill Byrne said today.

As it stands, the game is set for Saturday, Sept. 5 in Kyle Field. If moved, it would fall on Sunday, Sept. 6. In a statement released by school officials, Byrne said A&M officials “will discuss with New Mexico … the feasibility of such a move.” An announcement, Byrne said, could be made during the Big 12 conference meetings in May.

_ Jimmy Burch

Michael Crabtree says he's "not cocky at all''

When I woke up this morning, The Early Show on CBS was interviewing a bunch of college football players. One of them was Michael Crabtree, the mercurial wide receiver from Texas Tech and Dallas Carter High School.

After she interviewed Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo, I found it interesting that the first question to Crabtree from reporter Maggie Rodriguez was: "They've also said about you that you're confident, and some have even said cocky. What do you say to that, Michael?''

Crabtree said: "I'm not cocky at all. I'm just real confident. I try to stay positive about everything I do and I try to get better every day.''

Showing that she had obviously done her homework and read a few clips about Crabtree's ankle/foot injuries, Rodriguez asked: "And you're all better from your stress fracture, right? Ready to go?''

Crabtree said: "Ah yeah. I've got a new wheel. I'm ready to roll.''

Rodriguez: "Well, maybe we'll see you here in New York? Giants, maybe?''

Crabtree: "Hopefully anybody that picks me, I'm just ready to make an impact as soon as possible.''

Crabtree and other premier college players are in New York for the NFL Draft, which will be held Saturday and Sunday.

-- Dwain Price