Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Local product Tyrell Crosby has etched his place in Oregon football history

Green Valley High graduate finishes off career Saturday in Las Vegas Bowl

Crosby Oregon

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oregon offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby battles Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2017. Crosby was selected to the AP All-Conference Pac-12 team announced Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

Offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby was in for a surprise when he reported to camp ahead of his junior season at Oregon in 2016.

The Ducks’ incoming true freshman quarterback, Justin Herbert, blew away the local Green Valley High product. Knowing how much a veteran’s support could impact a young player, Crosby made sure to pull Herbert aside after being continually awed.

“I came up to him one day and said, ‘Playing beside Marcus (Mariota), you have a lot of the same traits and ability as him. I can see you winning a Heisman one day,’” Crosby recalled.

Hearing that Crosby offered that kind of encouragement makes sense to those who follow Oregon. As a four-year starter, and one of the last remaining links to the 2014 Ducks’ team that finished as the national runner-up, Crosby has become a linchpin of the program.

It may sound a little more out of character for those who knew Crosby from his high school days, when he seemed equal parts dominant on the field and diffident away from it. Crosby chuckled this week when current Oregon coach Mario Cristobal referred to him as a “natural born leader.”

“Most of the time, I’m pretty quiet so a lot of people say I’m not a leader,” Crosby said. “That was pretty cool to hear.”

Crosby has blossomed at Oregon, and now gets to finish off his storied college career at home. Oregon faces Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.

He’s fresh off of winning the Norris Trophy as the Pac-12 Conference’s best lineman this season after not allowing a sack all year while playing left tackle. He also led an effort to show player support for Cristobal to take over the head coaching position after Willie Taggart left for Florida State earlier this month by gathering more than 70 signatures on a petition.

And Cristobal said all of that might be secondary to Crosby’s community service, which included fostering a relationship with children who survived cancer.

“I’ll say it without reservation — the best lineman in the country,” Cristobal said. “I say that, and I have the film to prove it as well. How valuable is he? As a player and a person, you can’t describe it — truly a difference maker in every sense of the word.”

Crosby currently projects to go somewhere in the first four rounds of next April’s NFL Draft. He first started showing signs of that potential at Green Valley, where he combined sheer size with freakish athletic ability to become the most coveted recruit in the history of the Henderson school.

He also starred on the Gators’ basketball team, where he led the team in scoring his senior year while showing off the footwork that would become his greatest strength with the Ducks. Memories of those days — most specifically, summer football practices in the 100-plus degrees weather — rushed back to Crosby when Oregon arrived in Las Vegas earlier this week.

“Our first practice at Gorman, it kind of hit me that the last time I practiced here was in high school,” Crosby said. “It’s a great thing to finish at home and I’m just looking forward to the game.”

“I definitely want to leave here with a win. Since I’ve been here, we haven’t finished the season with a win so it’s just something I’m really hoping to get achieved.”

Crosby wouldn’t want to change anything, but acknowledged his last two seasons as an, “emotional roller coaster.” He’s now dealt with two coaching changes as Mark Helfrich was fired after the Ducks posted a 4-8 record during his junior year, where he only appeared in two games because of a foot injury.

The smoothest season for the program was Crosby’s freshman year, and that was when his nerves were at their highest after injuries pressed him into action protecting the Heisman-winning Mariota. Crosby was calmed by receiving similar reassurance to the kind he would later dispense.

“Our O-line coach, Coach (Steve) Greatwood, said I had the ability to be one of the best O-lineman to ever come to Oregon,” Crosby said. “At the time, I was like, ‘Yeah, OK.’ But to close out my career here, he wasn’t lying. It's just truly been a blessing.”

Crosby forged a strong bond with Greatwood, who coached at Oregon for nearly 30 years before he was let go when Taggart came in before this season. Given that relationship, Crosby could have been skeptical when Cristobal came in as the new offensive line coach.

Instead, he was invigorated from their first phone call. Crosby became just as close with Cristobal, as seen by his campaign to get him the full-time coaching job.

The Las Vegas Bowl may be the only game he gets to play in the Cristobal tenure, but the new coach says Crosby’s legacy will live on at Oregon.

“When you look at guys like this who take to construction and direction and really just dedicate themselves to being a different level of player from a performance standpoint, from an affecting others stand point, it creates a special vibe in that locker room — one other people want to follow,” Cristobal said. “This is impactful. He’s not only affecting the guy beside him, he affects all those around him.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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