Jacory Croskey-Merritt is not expected to play against Kansas State on Friday night. The starting running back for Arizona may or may not be eligible after a bizarre transfer saga that began in 2019.
It is a sticky situation for the Wildcats, who played during a Week 1 win over his former school.
Croskey-Merritt, an Alabama-native, was an unranked recruit out of high school. He began his career with four years at Alabama State and used his one-time transfer to join New Mexico in 2023.
Last season was a breakout year for the 5-foot-11, 204-pound ball-carrier. Croskey-Merritt went for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns on 189 carries.
The 23-year-old running back later entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer and was one of the top ball-carriers in the transfer portal. It has been a weird few months.
Arizona initially received his commitment in February. Croskey-Merritt flipped to Ole Miss in April. He later flipped back to Arizona in June.
Here is where things get crazy.
Is Jacory Croskey-Merritt eligible?
College athletes are granted four years of eligibility. All athletes were granted an additional year of eligibility in 2020 due to the pandemic. Croskey-Merritt had/has five years of eligibility, plus a one-time redshirt— so technically six.
An college football player exhausts any single year of eligibility if he plays in more than four games.
Official NCAA stats list 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 be 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 have since 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, Arizona played its transfer running back in a 61-39 win over the Lobos on Aug. 31. Croskey-Merritt ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
He did not play against Northern Arizona in Week 2. He will not play against Kansas State on Friday night.
The NCAA is still trying to figure out if Jacory Croskey-Merritt is actually eligible. The Wildcats are forced to sit and wait. They cannot risk playing an ineligible player, even though they already did so.
Should the NCAA determine that Croskey-Merritt is not eligible, Arizona might be at risk of forfeiting its Week 1 win. It cannot run the risk of further forfeit and will not put him on the field until the okay is official.