BroBible
Jacory Croskey-Merritt is getting a lot of attention at the Washington Commanders training camp as a name to watch during the upcoming NFL season. His last 18 months have been a whirlwind.
The 24-year-old didn’t get the chance to shine!
Croskey-Merritt played for three different teams during his six-year college football career. However, he played only one game as a senior in 2024.
The 5-foot-11, 208-pound running back was selected by the Washington Commanders with the No. 245 overall pick in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. Nobody really knew who he was or what he can do.
They very quickly learned!
Croskey-Merritt immediately turned heads during rookie minicamp. He is also getting a lot of love at the start of training camp.
Every highlight is better than the one before.
Washington even put him in the mix with the first team at practice earlier this week!
The Commanders do not have a clear RB1 for 2025. Their seventh-round rookie, who goes by Bill, seems to be a perfect fit in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt was not ranked as a recruit. He committed to Alabama State out of high school and played three or four seasons with the Hornets.
That “or” will be very important later on…
Croskey-Merritt transferred to New Mexico in 2023. It was the best year of his career. He ran for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns on 189 carries.
This is where things start to get weird. Jacory Croskey-Merritt entered the transfer portal for a second time after his breakout year in 2023. He initially committed to Arizona, flipped to Ole Miss, and then back to Arizona.
Croskey-Merritt got only 13 carries in one game for the Wildcats last season. He went for 106 yards and a touchdown in a season-opening blowout win over his former school, the Lobos.
And that was it!
Official NCAA stats listed Croskey-Merritt as having played eight games in 2019, five games in 2020, 10 games in 2021, 11 games in 2022 and 12 games in 2023. That would’ve been the extent of his eligibility.
With five years down, he would have needed to turn pro after his lone season at New Mexico.
However, Croskey-Merritt and Alabama State claim that he redshirted as a freshman and played in only four games to preserve that year of eligibility. Once his season ended, he gave his jersey to a teammate.
That player played in four additional games wearing his number. Croskey-Merritt was credited with his Hornets teammate’s carries even though they were not his, which raises questions about his eligibility.
Alabama State coaches provided evidence of the unusual jersey swap. They supposedly showed tapes to prove Croskey-Merritt played in only four games in 2019 and that he is still eligible.
As a result, he was allowed to play in Week 1 in 2024. Continued questions surrounding his eligibility forced him...
