HOUSTON (AP) - Michael Crabtree gained scores of admirers with his electrifying play at Texas Tech. He even caught the eye of arguably the NFL's best receiver in Houston's Andre Johnson.
As Crabtree prepares for his long-awaited debut with the 49ers against the Texans on Sunday, it seems everyone - including Johnson - is looking forward to him playing for the first time in more than nine months.
"I was a big fan of his," Johnson said. "I'm just glad to see him here this season playing. I watched him a lot when he was in college and I think he's a great player. So I think the sky's the limit for him."
Crabtree, chosen 10th overall, ended a 71-day holdout Oct. 7 and will play Sunday and could even start.
Johnson has heard people compare the rookie to him, but isn't sure how similar they are because he doesn't know how big Crabtree really is. He was listed at Johnson's height of 6-foot-3 in college, but his measurements now reflect a more accurate 6-1.
Regardless of his size, Houston coach Gary Kubiak sees similarities.
"I think they're a lot alike," he said. "Big players, explosive players, really good after the catch with the football. Dangerous. He was a great college player and unfortunately we get to see his first pro game."
The 49ers are hoping he'll help a passing game that is 28th in the NFL and averaging just under 161 yards a game. Still, they know his play may be a work in progress.
"I told him: 'Don't feel like you have to justify anything,"' 49ers coach Mike Singletary said. "'You don't have to prove anything. All you have to do is the best that you can. When you're out here, just make sure you know what you're doing. Put yourself in a position to make plays, and when those opportunities come, make those plays."'
Crabtree, a two-time Biletnikoff Award winner, had 3,127 yards receiving and 41 touchdowns in his two-year career with the Red Raiders. He's had about two weeks of practice with his team after ending his holdout by signing a six-year deal.
He'll play his first NFL game in the state where he grew up and became a college star. Crabtree is from Dallas, the city in which he last took the field when Texas Tech lost to Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2.
Crabtree thinks playing in such a pass-oriented offense in college will aid his transition to the NFL.
"At Texas Tech, we ran straight routes every day, all day," he said. "At practice, you ran 60 routes. ... I think the Tech offense kind of helped me as a receiver to be a complete receiver. I had about 10 different routes. Coach (Mike Leach) was very hard on us on blocking, so to be a complete player you have to have all those tools."
Singletary loves the work ethic and attitude Crabtree's shown since joining the team. He's taken ribbing from teammates with a smile and is always asking questions and eager to learn.
"When you have a kid like that and he comes out and the young man works hard every day, he doesn't have to tell you what he's been doing while he wasn't here, you see it," Singletary said. "You see it in his route running ... it's going to be in our best interest offensively to try and find out how much of an effect he can have and how much of a playmaker he really can be."
The Texans aren't underestimating the possibility Crabtree can be the kind of player he was in college right away. But they do expect somewhat of a learning curve in his first game.
"I was also the 10th pick coming out and my first game, it's just different," Houston cornerback Dunta Robinson said. "You'll never come in right away and do everything right. The speed is so much different than what you're used to. The game moves so fast, it took me about three or four games as a rookie before I actually started to feel comfortable. So I think all rookies can be rattled if there's a lot put on their plate."
As the 49ers look to improve their passing, the Texans are hoping to keep up their pace. Matt Schaub leads the NFL with 14 touchdown passes and Houston's passing attack ranks third to Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.
"We're just executing our offense as a group," Schaub said. "For me to be doing what I'm doing and what our offense is doing, we have 11 guys in the huddle that are executing and playing hard and making plays. That's what it comes down to: completing passes, letting your guys work for you and making plays downfield."
San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis knows this group will be a handful and the Niners will have to get to Schaub to be successful. He also wants to make sure Houston doesn't get its struggling running game on track against them.
"It's always important to get good pressure on the quarterback," he said. "Any time you can get the quarterback rattled, then that's a good thing. But first we have to make them one-dimensional, and that's stopping the run or that's stopping the pass, whichever one they're trying to do us against us. But first, stop the run."