Welcome Home Zach Crabtree as He's Back With Football as Prospect Analyst

STILLWATER – Mike Gundy has spoken often of his desire to fill open positions on his staff with former players during his regime and now, for the fourth time this year, Gundy has added a former Cowboy to the football support/coaching staff as two-time All-Big 12 first-team offensive tackle Zach Crabtree is back with Oklahoma State. Crabtree spent the past year working as a quality control coach under former Oklahoma State offensive line coach Joe Wickline at Baylor, but after Baylor head coach Dave Aranda let most of his offensive staff go including Wickline and offensive coordinator Larry Fedora, Crabtree was looking for his out. Gundy and Oklahoma State Director of Football Recruiting have added Crabtree to the staff as a prospect analyst.

Pat Kinnison - Chief Photographer

Crabtree (60) knows his offensive linemen having played there and started 43 games for the Cowboys. Here he is with Teven Jenkins (73) and Brad Lundblade (72).

Crabtree replaces Robert Luce, who was a prospect analyst specializing in offensive line and working with Bradford and offensive line coach Charlie Dickey. Luce left to be an offensive analyst at Texas A&M. Crabtree joins former Cowboys quarterback J.W. Walsh (offensive quality control), cornerback Michael Hunter (defensive graduate assistant), and defensive end Jamie Blatnick (strength assistant coach) as joining the staff.

“I really feel that our program is to the point that most of the time when we have an open position that we can fill it with one of our former players,” Gundy said recently. “We have a lot of guys out there in the (coaching) business. More than we can bring in, but I’m really committed to staying with our guys when they are the best candidates. They usually are because they know our culture and out expectations and the way we work.”

The recruiting prospect analysts have become a huge factor under Bradford. The staff is spread out and specializes in certain positions working alongside the position coaches. It allows them to screen the number of prospects for the coaches to look at. That gives the coaches more time to devote to developing the current players and game planning. The prospect analysts are also able to see way more prospects on video and even uncover some huge sleepers. That has happened within the last two recruiting classes including the current class for 2022.

Pat Kinnison - Chief Photographer

The personable Crabtree was a leader and is shown here being intiewed by the Cowboy Network’s John Holcomb.

Crabtree, a native of Mansfield, Texas, started 43 games at offensive tackle for the Cowboys missing just one game (TCU) his senior season due to an injury, prior to that he had started a record 32 games in a row. Crabtree was a first-team All-Big 12 player on the coaches team in 2017 and a second-team with the Associated Press in 2017 and with the coaches team in 2016. He was also honored multiple times as an academic All-Big 12 performer. His senior season the Oklahoma State coaching staff awarded him the Vernon Grant Award for outstanding leadership, spirit, and enthusiasm. He was elected a captain and was an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers. He made the team, but an injury forced him out of the league after two years.