HOOVER, Ala. -- Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman still doesn't think much of Michael Crabtree, but one of the top wide receiver prospects in the college ranks sees the San Francisco 49ers receiver as an ideal model for the position.
Alabama junior wide receiver Amari Cooper, who could face a difficult decision of whether to leave the Crimson Tide early for the NFL at season's end, said he likes everything about Crabtree's game.
"I like the way Michael Crabtree plays the game. He's strong, he goes up for the ball, he has that mentality to just make plays," Cooper said.
But while Crabtree is the NFL receiver Cooper looks to now, he was partial to the Houston Texans' Andre Johnson when he was a youngster. Cooper is a South Florida native, and thus has a healthy respect for the elite wide receivers that have come from the University of Miami.
"Michael Irvin, he's definitely a legend, but I don't know if some of the guys my age and younger really know about him," Cooper said. "But Andre Johnson, he was a guy I watched when I was smaller and he played for UM. They were great, and I definitely looked up to him."
As for his early entry decision, the first-team preseason All-SEC pick said he isn't giving the NFL any consideration just yet.
"I don't look at it like I've had a lot of success. I'm always hungry to do more, break records, and things of that sort," Cooper said. "I'm just trying to stay where my feet are, and focus on today."
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
