2016 Season Countdown: #44 Kekoa Crawford
Name: Kekoa Crawford
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 183 lbs.
High school: Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Catholic
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #1
Last year: Crawford was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 51 catches for 822 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Final TTB Rating: 81
Crawford, who has also gone by the name Dylan, was a steal for the Wolverines. He was high on Michigan all along, but he was higher on Oregon. The Ducks didn’t offer for the majority of the process, and by the time he reached the point of wanting to decide, the Ducks had filled up at wide receiver with Eddie McDoom. Of course, Michigan ended up with both players – McDoom, an Under Armour All-American, and Crawford, a U.S. Army All-American. Crawford caught his passes from K.J. Costello (Stanford) last year and was actually the #2 receiver on his team behind 2017 Oklahoma commit Grant Calcaterra.
I was encouraged by Crawford’s performance in the U.S. Army Bowl. He didn’t light the world on fire, but he showed that he has the size, strength, and running ability to compete against other elite players, many of whom are college-ready. He’s also a tenacious blocker. For those reasons I think he’s the most likely freshman receiver to make an impact this year. The Wolverines were pretty thin at wide receiver last year, especially in the slot. Grant Perry was the only guy who got serious run at slot receiver, and that may have been somewhat limiting to the offense, forcing them to spend a little more time with multiple tight ends than perhaps they wanted. Of course, Jim Harbaugh will always use a lot of tight ends, but there’s room for another slot to make an impact on third downs or competing with Perry for snaps.
Prediction: Backup wide receiver