Best back in the country? How Jacory Croskey-Merritt is making the most of his opportunity at UNM

On a windy fall afternoon, the best running back in the country sat at a metal table outside New Mexico’s indoor practice facility with his hands clasped and shook his head at that overwhelming idea: being the best running back in the country.

At least according to one source. Pro Football Focus creates grades for every player in pro and college football, based on every single play, every single action. Grades are issued on a -2 to +2 scale in 0.5 increments. For example, a -2 for a quarterback would be a backbreaking game-sealing pick-six. 0 is an “expected” outcome, the scale’s equivalent of an average play. An outstanding deep ball in a tight window to swing a game? That’d go down as a +2.

Sitting at the table, Jacory Croskey-Merritt — also known by his nickname, “Bill” — is not thinking about the how or why of a clinical grading system. Or the fleeting nature of a moment like this and the recognition that comes with it.

He’s just thinking about the moment. And his overall grade as of Wednesday morning is 91.7 as a halfback.

The best in the country.

He smiled. Shook his head again.

“It means a lot to me,” Croskey-Merritt said. “Finally being looked at and my hard work paying off, it just feels amazing. It just pushes me to keep going to stay the best in the nation. I’m truly blessed and thankful for this moment.”

In some ways, it wasn’t hard to see how this could happen. From the first day of camp, the 5-foot-11, 205 pound Croskey-Merritt ran with an aggression that was impossible to ignore. Players lauded it. Coaches spoke with the hinting knowledge they knew this was coming. How quickly it happened was unexpected.

“The difference with Bill is, it’s the violence that he runs with,” running backs coach Heath Ridenour said. “He’s miserable to tackle for defensive backs. He attacks them.

“He has the ability to run away from them — he doesn’t need a big space to run through. He’s got the power and physicality unlike anybody I’ve ever coached.”

And yet, for all those traits, for all that promise, few saw this coming. Croskey-Merritt’s high mark as a zero-star prep recruit was second team All-State honors out of Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama. When it was all said and done, he held just two offers — from FCS Alcorn State and Alabama State.

“Alcorn ended up taking another running back,” Croskey-Merritt shrugged. “I ended up staying home, just kept my head down and kept working for whatever came.”

What followed was four good, but maybe not great seasons with the Hornets. His best came last year — 526 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 120 touches to lead Alabama State on the ground. There were some good highlights, flashes of his full potential and the feeling something was missing.

“The numbers that I wanted, it just didn’t sit right with me,” Croskey-Merritt said. “I just knew I was way better than that.”

After transferring to New Mexico in June, he’s proved it. Croskey-Merritt (a team-high 431 yards and seven rushing touchdowns) is on pace to shatter his personal best with a 1,000-plus-yard season. Where there was once something to be desired, there’s now a feeling his best games, best runs are only ahead of him.

“His attention to detail has grown over the past few weeks,” Ridenour said. “You know, he’s always been violent and tough in pass protection but he’s learned pass protection. And that’s gonna make him a more well-rounded back.

“We talk to him in terms of getting recognition, the recognition he’s getting from the scouts. When they turn the video on, they need to see he’s great with the ball in his hand and he needs to be great when the ball’s not in his hands. And he’s really taken on that challenge right there.”

Few have celebrated Croskey-Merritt’s rise like wide receiver Jeremiah Hixon and offensive lineman Taurrian “Teedo” Stafford, two fellow Alabama State transfers and his roommates in Albuquerque. Hixon was the one who hosted Croskey-Merritt on his official visit to Alabama State before attending his signing day ceremony at Sidney Lanier.

When he found out Croksey-Merritt was in the portal, it wasn’t much of a question he’d reach out.

“We knew this opportunity was a better opportunity,” Hixon said. “We just wanted to come up here and capitalize and we didn’t want to change nothing. We wanted to be ourselves but we just wanted a better situation.”

When Croskey-Merritt broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown, his third in a 56-10 romp over Tennessee Tech, Stafford saw him stride into the end zone and felt tears welling in his eyes.

The moment washed over him.

“To see him doing the things that I’ve known he could do,” Stafford said, “it’s like watching your little brother grow up.”

For now, he gets to keep seeing it.

“It just feels so good to see our plans working out,” Croskey-Merritt said. “And not one second that we get complacent. Every day we want to get better and we compete with each other. And I just feel like we have the right mindset and with the right mindset, we’ll achieve everything we want to achieve.”