Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree stopped by The Times on Tuesday afternoon for an interview with the Fifth Down. He was in Manhattan to do some promotional work for Subway after signing an endorsement deal, his first national endorsement. He was also in town, of course, as an invitee of the N.F.L. for this weekend's draft. He is considered the best wide receiver prospect and could be selected in the top five picks.

He walked without a limp after having an operation on his left foot in early March.

We'll run the rest of the interview later in the week. Here's the first segment, which focused more on his Texas Tech days with quarterback Graham Harrell:
Question

At this moment, do you have any hint of where you might go?
Answer

None, none whatsoever.
Question

What's that like? You could go to Seattle, you could go to Cleveland, from one coast to almost the other coast. What's that like, not knowing what your future holds?
Answer

It's kind of different. I always know what I'm about to do. I always plan everything I'm doing. And right now, there's no plan. It's just kind of going with the flow ?" wherever you land. What you got to do right now is just build yourself up, and present yourself in the best way you can. That's all I've been working on.
Question

How is your foot? You never got the chance to prove how fast you could run at the combine or a pro day. If you could run right now, how fast could you go?
Answer

What I could have ran? At the combine? I've been 4.4 and under, for sure. If I do anything, I'm going to try to be the best at it. I feel that, at the rate I was going, I was working really hard. You can ask anybody I train with, they'll let you know, no doubt, a 4.4 and under.
Question

Some critics say that your success was partly a result of a pass-happy system at Texas Tech, and also that you're a step slower than the top guys. What do you say to people like that?
Answer

A lot of people want to say a lot of bad things about you; they never say the good things, the positive things. I feel like the running backs that go to the league are in run-happy offenses. Why does nobody ever say anything about that? I feel like I'm actually in a good position. I get to show a scout what I can do every play. I'm running a route every play. Even blocking. Blocking is no problem to me. What else could a receiver do? That's my question.
Question

What was going through your mind when the ball was coming your way on that late touchdown against Texas?
Answer

I had to keep my eyes on the ball the whole time. The year before, I missed a game-winner. It was my freshman year. I'll say it was a freshman mistake, but I'll also say I wasn't focused. I practiced that a lot of times in the summer. Me and Graham did about it 20 times, kept doing the same play. I never want to feel like that again. So when that time came, my focus was just, it was crazy, man. I couldn't even tell you how focused I was, because I couldn't even hear nothing, my eyes were just open, and trying to see the ball the whole way in.
Question

You mentioned Graham. He's not projected to be a high pick. Do you think he can be an N.F.L. starter one day?
Answer

I think he's a football player. You'll never know where any of these guys go ?" it's just whoever's got that determination. I think Graham's got that determination to want to be the best, because I worked with him in the summer. And I know. A football player is a football player. If a guy works to get better every year, he can't go wrong.
Question

Mike Leach, a lot has been written about him. A quirky guy. What has he meant to you?
Answer

He showed me a lot of the ways of the game. He also made football fun for me. He did a lot of the things, I couldn't even say, you'd have to be around him to know him. He just made the football aspect of it fun.
Question

Another interesting coach at Texas Tech was Bobby Knight. You were a high school basketball star. Was it tempting to want to play basketball when you first went to Texas Tech?
Answer

Any organization I've been in, I played basketball and football. I never just focused on one sport. A lot of people thought it'd be crazy if I focused on one sport. All my life I had to balance out sports. Bobby Knight would have been a good coach to play for. He's strict; at the same time, he knows how to have fun, too. It was hard for me to just play football for my school knowing that I always played basketball. But my first year, I had to redshirt, which led me to play football the next year. Then I just ran with the football side. I didn't even really get the chance. And a lot of people don't know how much that'll wear your body down, playing both sports, yeah, especially at the college level. That's the next step to the N.B.A. and N.F.L. I mean, there's no playing around at that level.



What team did you grow up rooting for and what players?
Answer

I was always a Dallas Cowboys fan, especially when they had everybody, Deion, Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, all the Boys.
Question

You've had a chance to talk to Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders. What kind of advice have they given you?
Answer

Just little football tips, how to come off the line, what you do with your size, stuff that you may already know, but hearing it from them, you know you're going in the right direction.
Question

Those are some players you emulated on the field. Now you're becoming a businessman. Was Subway an easy product for you to endorse?
Answer

I kind of grew up on Subway (he laughs). I used to eat Subway at basketball games and basketball tournaments. You can't eat too many heavy foods, running up and down the court. We kind of fell in love with Subway, back in high school.
Question

You've done some boxing training. Has that helped you a little bit?
Answer

Boxing is some of the best training you can do. A lot of people don't take that advice. Once you get to doing that, it's like, man, it's the best workout you can do, punching a bag, working your arms all day. And that's something I do is have to work my arms with cornerbacks ?" a lot of things that will help you on the field.
Question

You touched on this earlier: A lot of players have talent. But what really makes a good football player, an elite player?
Answer

Good or great?
Question

Exactly, the difference between good and great.
Answer

Good is people that play football just to get by. They're fine at what they're doing. But I'm never satisfied with what I'm doing. I always strive to be the best. When I do that, it separates me from everybody else. A lot of early mornings. A lot of late nights. A lot of just me on the field by myself, thinking football, just talking to myself. A lot of people might think that's dumb. But it helps you.
Question

You talk to yourself?
Answer

You have to, even if it's not out loud, you're thinking out loud ?" routes, and how can you beat a person. What little things you can do to beat the person across from you. That's something I emphasize, and I always did ever since I was young.

Question

They say you have a feel for getting open. Is that a natural thing or hard work?
Answer

Both. I've been blessed with a lot of vision to see the ball and adapt to whatever area I'm in, but I mean, it's hard work. It's a lot of film watching, what defenses do, what cornerbacks do, the little tendencies that they have. If you go this way, how will he react? I did that a lot; I did that every game. I could be watching film, and I could see the whole thing like I'm a coach. They used to call me Coach Crabtree.
Question

Do you follow some of the speculation and rumors about where you're going to go, or do you try to stay away from it?
Answer

I don't follow any of it. (he laughs) I'll be trying to see what new clothing line is coming out, what kinds of jeans are coming out, what kind of movie is coming out. My people will tell me these names about people on these TV shows. I don't even know who they are. I'm lost.
I never wanted to get caught up in it. That'll mess people's heads up.
Question

Any fears that you'll be sitting there in the green room Saturday, waiting a while?
Answer

Oh, no, not all. The longer I sit there, I'm just going to be having fun. We'll never run out of laughs sitting at the draft. We're happy to be here.
Question

What's the strangest thing you've had to deal with in the run-up to the draft? Have teams asked you some tough questions?
Answer

Just a lot of personal questions. A lot of personal questions about my uncle. My uncle? What does have to do with this? Just kind of crazy questions. But you get used to it.
Question

Do you think they do that on purpose? To make people uncomfortable, to see how they react?
Answer

Probably. I think so. A lot of people don't handle it right. I just answer the questions as they ask them. You can't go wrong.
Question

You've been measured as having especially long arms. Is that overrated or do you think it gives you a little advantage going up for the ball?
Answer

Having a lot of physical attributes, that's probably good, especially in football. But small people are really quick, and that's good for them; you can't tackle those little dudes. You can have big hands and still drop some passes. Everybody has their own body type.

• http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/qa-with-michael-crabtree-part-i/