Lane Kiffin lands All-American running back who can keep the Ole Miss offense trending in the right direction

Ole Miss landed a big-time transfer on Friday.Jacory Croskey-Merritt, a running back who started his college career at Alabama State, has had quite the collegiate journey. After a year there, he would then transfer to New Mexico University and his career would take off. In his last season at New Mexico, Croskey-Merritt would become a […]

Tyler Browning
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Ole Miss landed a big-time transfer on Friday.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, a running back who started his college career at Alabama State, has had quite the collegiate journey. After a year there, he would then transfer to New Mexico University and his career would take off.

In his last season at New Mexico, Croskey-Merritt would become a 1,000-yard rusher en route to honorable mention All-American honors. 

Croskey-Merritt would start to gain the attention of NFL Draft analysts on Twitter, and his talent would become apparent to the masses.

With a potential NFL future on the horizon, Croskey-Merritt would enter the transfer portal yet again.

This time he would gain the attention of bigger schools.

Croskey-Merritt would originally commit to the University of Arizona back in February. His recruitment would not be closed,  however, as he would still take visits to schools like Washington. 

Croskey-Merritt was heavily considering Washington until Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss came calling.

The flip would happen quickly as Croskey-Merritt would be on campus in Oxford rather quickly after the call.

Running back Logan Diggs transferred from LSU to Ole Miss back in January, but he is still recovering from off-season knee surgery, and his status for the 2024 season remains in question. So the fit of Croskey-Merritt in Ole Miss' offense makes sense. 

I reached out to Ben Glassmire, a scout with RPM Data, who was one of the first public fans of Croskey-Merritt on "NFL Draft Twitter." Glassmire had this to say about him: 

Croskey-Merritt is a slippery and extremely quick runner who can take advantage of lanes his OL can create early on in a play. His ability to maintain momentum through cuts and get upfield will be a huge asset for the Ole Miss offense. He will be a spark plug as someone they can count on for big plays.

Prior to Croskey-Merritt there was no definitive RB1 in the Ole Miss offense that was healthy.

Now there is. And it is one fans can get excited about. 

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