Crosby on Watch List, July 14

A season largely lost to injury hasn’t sullied the college football world on the talents of UO offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby. Oregon’s senior offensive tackle was included Thursday on the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy, given to the nation’s top interior lineman by the Football Writers’ Association of America. Crosby also was on the award’s preseason watch list in 2016, before missing all but two games of the season due to injury. The three Outland Trophy finalists will be selected from the FWAA’s all-America team for 2017. The FWAA’s All-America Committee will then vote for a winner from among the three finalists. Crosby, 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, returned to drills this spring for an offensive line that returns four starters from last fall. In Crosby’s absence, Brady Aiello and Calvin Throckmorton manned the tackle spots for the Ducks in 2016; they return as sophomores upon the opening of UO preseason camp July 31, when Crosby will work to regain his role under new position coach Mario Cristobal. As a true freshman in 2014, Crosby defied convention by working his way into the UO rotation. He ultimately led the team in pancake blocks that fall, before becoming a regular starter in 2015. Crosby’s play as a sophomore earned him a spot on the national radar at this time a year ago, namely with the Outland watch list appearance. But he aggravated an injury early in the 2016 season and ultimately was sidelined for all but two games. Given his size and athleticism, Crosby is considered a future NFL prospect, and indeed he considered entering the 2017 draft. But Crosby opted to play for new UO coach Willie Taggart this fall as a senior for the Ducks, whose season opens against Southern Utah in Autzen Stadium on Sept. 2 (5:30 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Network).