Rebel Rewind: The time Ole Miss’ Marshay Green got the last laugh on Michael Crabtree
Fan-favorite Ole Miss cornerback Marshay Green remembers the 2009 Cotton Bowl like it was yesterday. Actually, he still remembers exact plays.
Like, say, the first snap.
Green was matched up opposite two-time Biletnikoff winner Michael Crabtree. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Crabtree was a bully of a Texas Tech wide receiver. He went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL.
Green? Generously listed at 5-10, 175. And while he was all-league-caliber in his final Ole Miss season, he was still a converted wide receiver standing toe-to-toe with inarguably his toughest opponent to date.
Crabtree came set pre-snap. He turned briefly to Green and laughed.
Derisively.
“Me being competitive, I laughed back,” Green said previously, in a walk down memory lane exclusively with the Ole Miss Spirit. “I was like, ‘Come on, buddy. Let’s do it.’”
LISTEN: A trip to the Manning Passing Academy with the Ole Miss Spirit’s Jake Thompson
Ole Miss notoriously went on to whip the heavily-favored Red Raiders.
The No. 25-ranked Rebels — in their first year under Houston Nutt and rebounding from the disastrous tenure of Ed Orgeron — reeled off six straight wins to close out the year, including the 47-34 win over Crabtree and Co.
Greene was named the game’s Defensive MVP. He had a 65-yard interception returned for a touchdown that provided the Rebels a 10-point third-quarter cushion in what had been a tightly-contested game. Green, a gifted special-teamer as well, also nearly returned a punt for a touchdown.
The All-American Crabtree, meanwhile, was held to four receptions and a career-low 30 yards in his final college game. He caught a two-yard touchdown but also fell on a pass that resulted in Green’s game-breaking interception.
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Turns out the Rebels were no laughing matter.
“They had the No. 1 wide receiver in the country at the time, and they felt they weren’t supposed to be playing in this game,” Green said.
The full interview with Green can be found AT THIS LINK or in the embedded player below.
“They felt like they deserved better. What people don’t know is we also felt like we were supposed to be playing in a bigger game and deserved to play a better opponent.”
Green spent time professionally with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts, among others, as well as the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Green added, “Leading up to the game, there was chatter about how Crabtree was going to have this big game; can the Ole Miss secondary hold up? Even PrimeTime (Deion Sanders) came to our practice and talked to the (defensive backs) and tried to motivate us.
“And it worked. We came out and took care of business. I knew we had them when I ran the punt return back — even though I stepped out of bounds and it didn’t count as a touchdown. I could feel the momentum completely shift, and I knew we weren’t going to give it back.”
