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An emerging talent at the strong-side linebacker position, Crable reminds some scouts of Carl Banks, an All-American at that position for the Wolverines' arch-rivals, Michigan State, who went on to earn All-Pro honors during a stellar career with the New York Giants. The talented youngster has the same excellent read-and-react skills and playing strength, doing a great job of attacking the backfield coming off the edge that Banks showed throughout his college and professional career.
With Crable's tall and rangy frame, some talent evaluators feel he could bulk up for a possible switch to the defensive line, where his pass rushing and pass coverage skills could excel as a hybrid linebacker/defensive end. Evident by his 28.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage as a senior, the Wolverine has proven to be among the elite blitzers in the 2008 NFL Draft pool.
At Washington High School, Crable was an All-State first-team linebacker as a senior and rated the eighth-best player in the nation at his position by Tom Lemming, who chose him for his Prep Football Report 2003 Super Team. He was also rated the eighth-best strong-side outside linebacker in the nation by MaxEmfingerRecruiting.com and earned All-American honors while being ranked seventh nationally at his position by Super Prep.
Crable received a four-star prospect rating from Rivals100.com and was named to Prep Star's Dream Team Top 100 list, in addition to earning Parade All-American honors. He was selected to the roster of 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, after he made 75 tackles, 17 sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions as a senior.
Crable lettered three times with the varsity. He recorded 125 tackles, six sacks, 19 stops for losses and two interceptions as a junior. He also lettered four times in basketball, averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds during his junior season. A three-year letterman in track, he ran the 100-meter dash in 10.7 seconds and anchored the 4x100 relay team.
In 2003, Crable enrolled at Michigan, but spent the season on the sidelines recovering from a shoulder injury. He appeared in eight games on defense and nine contests on special teams in 2004, posting seven tackles (6 solos) with an 8-yard sack and two pass break-ups. He was listed second on the depth chart at strong-side outside linebacker in 2005, coming up with 14 tackles (12 solos), three sacks and a trio of deflected passes while appearing in 12 games.
As a junior, Crable took over strong-side linebacker chores, starting eight of 13 contests. He earned All-Big Ten Conference second-team honors from the league's coaches, going on to register 37 tackles (28 solos), 4.5 sacks and 10.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage. He recovered a fumble, caused two others and deflected three passes.
During 2007 preseason camp, Crable was named one of the team's three captains. When he found out his teammates had voted him defensive captain, he immediately starting asking questions and sought advice from family and close friends. "I was kind of nervous," he said. "I called my brother, I called my best friend, I talked to my girl, I just asked a lot of questions about what it is to lead and what people thought it was to lead. I went and talked to coach E (defensive coordinator Ron English) because I don't think I was fully prepared. I think that's just a great honor, especially because it's voted on by your teammates, and it's not just coaches saying, 'Oh, this guy is going to be captain of this team.' "
The All-American and All-Big Ten Conference second-team pick served as team captain in 2007. Crable started 12 times, ranking second on the team with a career-high 37 tackles (28 solos) and 7.5 sacks. He led the conference and ranked second nationally with a school season-record 28.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also had four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and four pressures. "I think Shawn has taken the leadership part of his expectation very seriously," Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr said.
In 46 games on defense, Crable started 20 contests at strong-side linebacker. He recorded 148 tackles (101 solos), ranking tied for 10th on the school's all-time record list with 16 sacks for minus-102 yards and finishing seventh in Wolverines history with 43 stops for losses of 163 yards. He was credited with six quarterback pressures, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, returning one 10 yards. He also deflected nine passes.
Positives: Has a tall, rangy frame with very long arms, large hands, a bit high cut, but has room on his frame to bulk up to 260 pounds (for a possible use as a hybrid DE/OLB)...Has good quickness out of his stance, though not explosive, but enough to get an edge on the outside shoulder of an offensive tackle...Well-built athlete,who relies on his quickness, speed, range and flashes of burst and acceleration...Shows good production coming off the edge to disrupt the pocket and does a nice job vs. outside run containment (only in the short area, as he lacks range to make plays at the opposite side of the field)...Team-first athlete who enjoys his role on special teams, demonstrating good competitiveness and toughness...Uses his long arm reach effectively to stack, shed and ward off blockers...Still learning and growing into his position, both physically and mentally, but works hard in outstanding his job of reading and reacting to blocking schemes and ball flow, as well as locating the football...Good leverage player who needs to improve his hip flexibility and burst to close, but has the quickness and knowledge for taking good angles to disrupt the pocket on a consistent basis...Has good playing strength to extend, anchor and hold off blockers, as well as the ability to shed and get to the ball (when he keeps his pad level down)...Still a work in progress, but showed better ability to use his hands to get good extension in attempts to stack and hold off tight-end blocks, string out plays and get to the ball (just lacks consistency)...Makes more plays in clear air (free lanes) than at the point of attack, but has good eyes for locating the ball...When he uses his hands with force, he is effective at playing off blocks, but must demonstrate better consistency using his arm length for block extension (will get lazy with hands to shed at the X's)...Does a good job of attacking off the edge and pursuing to the outside to make plays...Shows adequate lateral movement and flow, but will sometimes over-run the play...Shows better coverage skills across the middle and outside the box vs. the tight end than he does in the zone...Plays on his feet and is effective at wrapping the ballcarrier in closed quarters, generating good pop on contact...Has the speed to make plays around the perimeter, and when he gets through traffic he has the good angle concept to pressure the pocket...Has outstanding blitzing ability off the edge or on an inside dog, as he chases hard and shows good intent to deliver the blow...Very good on stunts, as he has the knack for finding the open lane... Shows more quickness than speed as a speed rusher, but has a long stride and range to get to the ball...With his pass rush skills, he can create havoc in the backfield, but must be more conscious of sinking his hips to generate the extra burst needed to seal the deal.
Negatives: Has good upper body development, but is slender in his thighs and legs, appearing to lack the bulk to anchor vs. double teams...Still learning how to break down plays in space (better at the line of scrimmage), as he seems to be late recognizing action going on away from his territory and needs to make a better effort to get involved vs. action away from him...Because of his lanky frame, he fails to generate good pad level, getting too tall in his stance and the result is offensive tackles having success in washing him out of the play once they get their mitts on him (struggles to shed)...Loses his anchor, especially vs. double teams, due to his high stance at the X's...Has very good ball location skills vs. the run, but can get lost in zone coverage as he struggles handling switch-offs and will bite on pump fakes...Not really fluid in his backpedal and is prone to taking extra steps in transition, causing him to be a bit behind when trying to mirror the tight ends and backs in space...Relies too much on his burst off the edge, and while he has a strong club move he needs to generate a more fluid spin move and show more array in his tricks to break free (lacks swim and rip moves)...Has good timed speed, but is not really sudden or explosive closing on the play...Too stiff in his hips to work fluidly down the line, needing to gather before changing direction...Not a natural hands catcher, as most passes that he gets to are deflected rather than intercepted...Must improve his pad level and hip sink to take on blockers with better force and prevent from getting washed out...Will generally get run over by blockers on plays directed right at him...Must learn to control his emotions (gets into a funk when penalized) and show better snap count anticipation (can be pulled off side by a good cadence)...Must be more active with his hands in attempts to disengage (short arms quite a bit, letting blockers into his exposed chest).
Compares To: SHAUN PHILLIPS-San Diego...Crable is not as bulky as Phillips, but his frame has the potential to carry 260 pounds. He is a very good edge rusher and blitzer who relies a lot on his quickness to surprise a lethargic blocker. He lacks the sand in his pants to generate a good anchor and must do a better job of using his hands to protect his body from combo blocks and cut blocks. He is quick to see the play develop, but it is rare for him to come out of his area to make a play. He is too stiff in his hips to get good depth in his pass drops and struggles with ball recognition when playing in the zone, as he does bite on play-action. He will need to improve his lower body strength for the next level, as his only value right now is as a pass rusher.
2003: Sat out the year with a shoulder sprain.
