Oregon LT Tyrell Crosby to wear No. 58 in Las Vegas Bowl to honor shooting victims
Las Vegas native Tyrell Crosby is switching numbers for the final game of his college career.
Crosby will wear No. 58 in Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State. The number is in honor of the 58 people who were killed in a mass shooting during a country music festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1.
“This is so much more than a game to me,” Crosby told Oregon’s site. “I take a lot of pride in being from Vegas — especially being a football player from Vegas.”
Crosby is a senior and four-year starter. He typically wears No. 73 and has been invited to the Senior Bowl to showcase his skills for NFL teams and coaches at the end of the season.
He told Oregon’s site that one of his friends was a promoter for the Route 91 Harvest Festival, which was one big party until Nevada resident Stephen Paddock opened fire with machine guns from his hotel room overlooking the concert area. Over 500 people were injured in the shooting and its aftermath as people fled to safety to avoid the gunfire coming from the sky.
The shooting is the deadliest mass shooting in United States history, surpassing the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016. Paddock’s motive is still officially undetermined.
Oregon, 7-5, takes on Boise State, 10-4, at 3:30 p.m. ET. It’s the first game for new Oregon coach Mario Cristobal, who was promoted to take the place of former coach Willie Taggart. Taggart is now Florida State’s coach. Crosby was one of more than 70 Oregon players who signed a petition asking school officials to promote Cristobal to replace Taggart.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
