WR: Michael Crabtree, Jakeem Grant, Carlos Francis, Mickey Peters
The DFW receiving corps would be unbelievable considering that it would feature the top two receivers in program history in terms of receiving yardage, Jakeem Grant and Michael Crabtree. When adding Carlos Francis and Mickey Peters to the mix, this group becomes unimaginably tough to defend.
We all know about Crabtree, one of only two players all-time to win the Biletnikoff Award in back-to-back seasons (2007-08). He left Tech as the program leader in career receiving yards (3,127), career touchdowns (41), single-season receiving yards (1,962 in 2007, 3rd in NCAA history), and receiving touchdowns in a season (22). We will likely never see another receiver as talented as the Dallas Carter product who was also an all-state basketball player in high school.
As for Grant, he now is atop the career receiving yardage list with 3,286 (though he played two more seasons at Tech than Crabtree, 2012-15). His 1,286 yards in 2015 is sixth-most in a season for any Red Raider and he is fifth in Tech history with 27 career touchdown catches. Though he had only one offer from a Power 5 school when he committed to Tech out of Mesquite, Grant became the most explosive inside receiver in the history of the school that revolutionized the position.
At the other inside receiver would be Mickey Peters. From 2000-2003 he caught 198 passes for 2,318 yards and 22 touchdowns (tied for 7th-most in program history). The Weatherford native was one of the pioneers of the inside receiver position in the “Air Raid” era as his career coincided with the first four years of Mike Leach’s tenure.
As for Carlos Francis, the Ft. Worth native is 5th in Tech history with 3,031 career yards. That included 1,177 in 2003, tied for the 9th most by any Red Raider. From 2000-2003, the speedster, who also ran track, caught 21 touchdown passes, tied for 9th-most for a Red Raider.
In all, this unbelievable receiving corps gave the Red Raiders 11,852 receiving yards, 111 yards, and two Biletnikoff Awards. That position group is without question the strength of the DFW roster.