Oklahoma State University Athletics
Elbert Craig
July 03, 2003 | Cowboy Football
2002: Craig made his 34th career start against Southern Miss in the Houston Bowl and finished with seven total tackles in the bowl victory. Finished the season second on the team with 83 tackles and 10 pass breakups. Tied for the team lead with two interceptions. Finished with four tackles against Baylor. Tied for the team lead with seven stops against KU. Ended up with eight tackles and a pass breakup against Texas Tech. Finished with eight tackles and three pass breakups against Texas A&M. Tied for the team lead with 10 solo tackles against Nebraska. Led the team with nine tackles and a fumble recovery against Kansas State. Made eight tackles with three pass breakups against UT. Had five tackles against SMU. Led the Cowboys with 11 tackles and two pass breakups against UCLA. Intercepted two passes with two tackles against Northern Iowa. Finished with one tackle and one pass breakup against Louisiana Tech.
2001: Started 10 of the 11 games his sophomore season. Missed the Baylor game with an injury, but responded quickly to start the following week against Oklahoma. He registered 98 total tackles, which was second on the defense to Dwayne Levels. Of his 98 total stops, 48 were solo tackles. He also had four tackles that resulted in minus-10 yards, one interception, two passes broken up and a quarterback hurry. Craig had a five-game stretch during the 2001 season that was very impressive. Beginning with the Texas A&M game, he had five straight double-figure tackle games, including 11 vs. A&M, 14 vs. Northwestern State, 16 against Missouri, 14 vs. Texas and 12 vs. Iowa State. That’s a five-game stretch with 67 tackles, an average of 13.4 per game.
2000: Started every game for OSU at strong safety. His production was impressive. In 11 games, he registered 81 tackles, the second-highest tackle total on the team. In addition to his tackle stats, Craig had three tackles for loss, two sacks and a team-leading three interceptions. His eight pass deflections ranked second on the team, and he also had two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry.
1999: His redshirt season at OSU.
High School: A preseason SuperPrep All-American, Craig was a two-way starter at Millwood and one of the most coveted recruits in this part of the country. SuperPrep also ranked him one of the top-16 defensive backs in the country. He finished his senior season with 127 tackles. Over his final two prep seasons, Millwood’s team captain had 181 tackles, 21 sacks and seven interceptions. On the offensive side of the ball in 1998, he had 20 receptions for 306 yards and a pair of touchdowns. First Down Recruiting ranked him as the No. 3 prospect in Oklahoma, and he was also an Oklahoma Coaches’ Association All-State selection. A Daily Oklahoman Blue Chip selection, Craig was also recruited by Oklahoma, Kansas State and Nebraska.
Personal: Born Feb. 18, 1981, he is the son of Rosetta and Elbert Craig, Sr. He has two brothers, Marcus, also a member of the Cowboy squad, and Sanchez. His cousin, Tim Burrough, was also part of Oklahoma State’s 1999 recruiting class and is also heading into his final OSU season. Craig’s hobbies include singing, horseback riding, church related activities and working with kids. Elbert is majoring in general business at Oklahoma State.
DEFENSE G UT-AT=TT TFL-Yds Sacks-Yds Int-Yds PD FF FR 2000 11 62-19=81 3-16 2.0-15 3-37 11 2 1 2001 10 48-50=98 4-10 0.0- 0 1-0 4 0 0 2002 13 54-29=83 0- 0 0.0- 0 2-0 12 0 1 TOTAL 34 164-98=262 7-26 2.0-15 6-37 27 2 2
