For his final season as a college football player, one of the top running back transfers is re-joining the Arizona Wildcats.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who initially planned to play for the Wildcats in 2024 before joining Mississippi, is back at Arizona. Croskey-Merritt, a former standout running back for the New Mexico Lobos, was the final addition from the transfer portal that was announced by the program on Wednesday.
Croskey-Merritt is nicknamed "Bill" after the cartoon "Little Bill." Croskey-Merritt garnered the nickname after he shaved his head before his sophomore season at Alabama State.
Croskey-Merritt was one of Arizona's first additions through the transfer portal since the hiring of head coach Brent Brennan. Croskey-Merritt transferred in February, then he decided to leave for Ole Miss in April just before the UA's spring game. The Montgomery, Alabama native said leaving Tucson for Ole Miss was "closer to home, down south. Basically, that's it."
When asked by the Star about his decision to leave the UA for Ole Miss before his about-face, Croskey-Merritt didn't want to get into the minutiae.
"There were a lot of confusing things going on," Croskey-Merritt told the Star this week. "That's it. ... It wasn't really transcripts (or academics). I can't really say what was happening, but there were a lot of people talking that I didn't know about. It was a lot of stuff. I don't really want to get into the details, but people blow things up that shouldn't have been blown up. A lot of people and schools were talking to each other."
Croskey-Merritt said he "decided to come back (to Arizona) because this is where my heart led me the first time, and this is where I should be."
"Just being around great people for my last year, just seeing what these guys have built in the last year and I want to be a part of it and just keep adding and building and winning a championship for the program," he added. "I just want to add to what they're doing and make the team better."
Croskey-Merritt played four seasons at Alabama State before his lone season at New Mexico in 2023, where he rushed for 1,190 yards — which ranked 23rd in college football — and 17 touchdowns. Croskey-Merritt averaged 6.3 yards per carry last season for the Lobos, which were led by Arizona linebackers coach and former UNM head coach Danny Gonzales. Croskey-Merritt’s 17 rushing touchdowns ranked fifth nationally; he finished with 18 total touchdowns.
"What led to my success is being able to play on that platform," Croskey-Merritt said. "That's been my goal since I was a child, to play on national television and my family was able to watch me. I didn't take that for granted. Getting a shot on that stage, it just made me want to thrive and go hard and show schools I could've been playing on this level coming out of high school. I wanted to get on this level and show what I can do."
Croskey-Merritt ended the year with a 92.7 offensive grade on Pro Football Focus, which was eighth-best nationally. Arizona running backs coach Alonzo Carter said Croskey-Merritt is “a big-play football player, he’s a do-it-all (player), he can catch the ball, run the ball, block — he does it all.”
The former New Mexico star is expected to be among the leaders of Arizona’s running backs room that is replacing three valuable players between Michael Wiley, DJ Williams and Jonah Coleman, who followed former UA head coach Jedd Fisch and his staff to Washington. The Wildcats have five scholarship running backs between Croskey-Merritt, San Jose State transfer Quali Conley, third-year running back Rayshon Luke, redshirt freshman Brandon Johnson and former Ole Miss running Kedrick Reescano, who was also officially added on Wednesday.
"I think the running back room is good," Croskey-Merritt said. "We've got a lot of athletes in there, but we gotta come with it every day. I like it though, because they keep me on top of my game. I think the running back room is good. We're just going to push each other every day to get better, and that's what I want."
Carter said Arizona's running backs "are open to the competition, he’s open to the competition."
"We’re excited to have him on our side," Carter said. "It’s my job to get him coached up so he can help us Week 1 against New Mexico.”
Croskey-Merritt bolsters a running back room that looks to complement the high-powered Arizona offense led by quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan; the Wildcats also return four starters on the offensive line.
Croskey-Merritt, who emulates his game after running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and Alvin Kamara, said he'll be "a Swiss-army knife" in the Wildcats' offense.
"I can run between tackles, take it the long distance, catch, block, and I can affect the defense by just being out there," Croskey-Merritt said. "I can do it all. Whatever can help the team win."
Carter said Croskey-Merritt is "a big-play football player."
"He’s a do-it-all (player), he can catch the ball, run the ball, block — he does it all, so I’m really excited to have him bring a different element to our backfield. ... He’ll have a chance to play in the Big 12, represent us and give us that leadership and experience that we need to take this football team to the next level. I think he’ll be a great addition to this team.”
If all goes well in Croskey-Merritt's final college football season at Arizona, "I'm hoping this last year will bring me a championship," he said.
"That's something I've always wanted. I'm hoping this last year brings a lot of success to not only me, but the seniors trying to get to the next level. My personal goal is to be the best running back in the Big 12 and win a lot of awards going out and give myself a shot to get drafted.
"I want to turn a lot of heads, not just in the Big 12 but around the nation. Putting my name out there, so people can recognize me."
