Oregon’s Tyrell Crosby will wear No. 58 during Las Vegas Bowl to honor shooting victims

Nevada native Tyrell Crosby is will be switching numbers this Saturday when Oregon takes on Boise State at the Las Vegas Bowl. The senior offensive tackle, normally seen with the No. 73 emblazoned across his body, will wear No. 58 to honor the 58 people whose lives were taken from them during the horrifying mass shooting on Oct. 1 in Las Vegas.

A four-year starter at Oregon, Crosby is from Henderson, which is a suburb of Las Vegas. It’s pretty heavy that his final collegiate game will be played not only so close to home but that also is now home to the deadliest mass shooting in the modern history of the United States.

He said that it was “eerie” driving by the site of the shooting as the team traveled to its destination this week.

“It felt eerie to me; it felt strange,” Crosby said this week, per the school’s website. “It just kind of hit me — this is where it happened.”

Not surprisingly, Crosby is carrying more than a desire to play well in his final college game.

“This is so much more than a game to me,” he said. “I take a lot of pride being from Vegas — especially being a football player from Vegas.”

Crosby said one of his friends was a promoter for the country concert being held the night of the shooting. Another of his friends was working at a local hospital that same night. He said he didn’t personally know anyone who was killed or wounded in the attack but that emotional flashbacks are still very poignant.

“Physically they were fine,” Crosby said. “But still to this day, people are having flashbacks. Emotionally, they’re not healed.”

Saturday’s bowl game is the perfect opportunity for Crosby to show he’s “Vegas Strong” as he honors his friends who were there, along with those who were injured and killed.

He and the Ducks (7-5) will attempt to close out a tumultuous season on a positive note under a new head coach against a very tough Broncos team that lost just three games all year.