LAS VEGAS -- Oregon senior left tackle Tyrell Crosby has started 35 games in his career, but his 36th will mean a little more.
Crosby, who grew up near Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada, will end his UO career in Saturday's Las Vegas Bowl by changing his number from 73 to 58 -- a tribute to honor the 58 victims of September's mass shooting near The Strip.
"Tyrell is a very special individual and very talented football player," new coach Mario Cristobal said Friday. "This is kind of a homecoming for him and obviously the events of the past have really had a tremendous impact on him."
Crosby had the option to sit out his season finale, as teammate Royce Freeman elected. Both players, along with long snapper Tanner Carew, will take part in the Jan. 27 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, which is a showcase attended by numerous NFL scouts and executives.
Instead, he will play one more game with the Ducks while honoring victims of the shooting at a September country music festival. The shooting occurred at the Mandalay Bay resort, where UO has stayed this week. Crosby, who said he knew several friends who attended the concert, has called staying at the location "eerie."
"This is so much more than a game to me," he said, according to the school's news release (Crosby was not available for interviews Friday). "I take a lot of pride in being from Vegas, especially being a football player from Vegas."
After missing nearly the entire 2016 season due to injury, Crosby returned for a senior season filled with accolades. He won the Morris Trophy, awarded to the Pac-12's top lineman, and was named to the Pac-12's all-conference first team.
"Everyone is super excited to have him back," quarterback Justin Herbert said.
-- Andrew Greif
agreif@oregonian.com