Just call him Bill.
Odd as it may seem at first, that’s the nickname for Jacory Croskey-Merritt, a rookie running back with the Washington Commanders drafted in the seventh round. He’s built a cult following after a promising preseason, becoming a popular fantasy football sleeper despite a long and winding path to the NFL that included stops at Alabama State, New Mexico and Arizona.
Those who coached him along the way aren’t surprised at all.
“I loved the kid. The thing that stood out was he was a violent runner, an explosive runner, and his effort was extreme,” said Bryant Vincent, his offensive coordinator at New Mexico in 2023 and now the head coach at Louisiana-Monroe. “His mentality and mindset and work ethic — he was in the film room, was a football junkie. He’d carry the ball 25 times a game, and Tuesday, it didn’t matter, he was hurt and beat up, but he had to have his reps. He was the hardest practice player I’ve ever seen.”
Jacory Croskey-Merritt has quickly gone from an obscure seventh-round pick to a fantasy football sleeper. That’s certainly something to smile about. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
About that nickname: At a young age, Croskey-Merritt kept his head shaved, and that look, combined with a perpetual smile, had friends calling him “Little Bill,” like the popular Bill Cosby cartoon from 25 years ago.
“I called him Jacory, but the guys on the team would call him Bill,” said Eddie Robinson Jr., his coach at Alabama State. “Halfway through the season, I’m like, ‘Who is Bill?’ I didn’t know. It was a team thing, but I kind of picked up on it. That’s definitely the alter ego. Great kid, great family.”
After his stints at Alabama State and New Mexico, Croskey-Merritt transferred to Arizona last year. But he played only one game, rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown against his former Lobos teammates, before being suspended for an eligiblity issue. It’s a little complicated. He played four games in his first year at Alabama State, the most a player can play and still redshirt, but the NCAA ruled that he had played more. Croskey-Merritt said another player later wore his number, but the NCAA wouldn’t accept the explanation.
“The compliance officer at the SWAC wrote a letter saying they did have to [share] uniforms,” said Danny Gonzales, his head coach at New Mexico and now the defensive coordinator at Arizona. “There were numerous kids wearing 21 throughout the season. You can see, some of them have long hair, some of them have short, some wore tights, some don’t. We went through game by game. … We never got a full ruling.”
The Commanders were impressed by Croskey-Merritt’s reaction to his suspension. Most players, told their season was over after one game, would simply walk away, train on their own and prepare for the draft. But Croskey-Merritt stayed with Arizona football, practicing and working on the scout team, helping to prepare his teammates for the backs they’d face on Saturdays.
“That’s the biggest testament to his maturity,” Gonzales said. “Every time a scout came through and watched him busting his tail on scout team, in the situation he’s in, they saw he approached it like a pro.”
Croskey-Merritt’s only game action at Arizona came against his former team, the New Mexico Lobos, in 2024. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Croskey-Merritt was a zero-star recruit coming out of high school in Montgomery, Ala., and he stayed home and accepted a scholarship to FCS Alabama State. He spent four years there, and while he led the team in rushing his last two seasons, he totaled just 1,164 yards and 13 touchdowns, an unremarkable total for that level.
“He was one of those guys that would ask you: ‘Coach, what do you think? What do I need to improve on? How close am I to making it to the next level?’” said Robinson Jr., who spent 11 years in the NFL as a linebacker. “I told him things he needed to work on, like his long-range speed needing to improve. The explosiveness and toughness was there, and the wanting to work.Â
“It’s fun watching him play, because you know how hard he wanted to get there. I’ll tell kids, ‘You have to do A,B,C and D.’ He was one of the kids who did A,B,C and D. That’s not a guarantee it’s going to work, but it put him in position, and now he’s taking advantage of the opportunity.”
Croskey-Merritt entered the transfer portal in 2023 and chose New Mexico, but Robinson said he did that the right way, going into his office and having a conversation, rather than just posting a goodbye on social media. He thrived at a higher level at New Mexico, rushing for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns in one season there.
He got better as the season went on, and in his final two regular-season games, he went off, rushing 21 times for 209 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Fresno, then 31 times for 233 yards and a score in a double-overtime loss to Utah State.
“We’d give it to him until he was gassed, then we’d do something else, then we’d give it back to him until he got gassed again,” Vincent said. “He wanted every one of them.”
Croskey-Merritt (#5) celebrates with his New Mexico teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in 2023. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
After the disappointment at Arizona, Croskey-Merritt helped himself at the Shrine Bowl, earning Offensive MVP honors for a game-high 97 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Washington took a chance on him. Seventh-round picks don’t always make a team’s 53-man roster, but the Commanders liked him enough that they were comfortable trading their leading rusher from last season, Brian Robinson, to the 49ers for a draft pick.
Washington has three more running backs returning from last season — 30-year-old Austin Ekeler, 29-year-old Jeremy McNichols and 24-year-old Chris Rodriguez Jr. — but there’s excitement about the progress that Croskey-Merritt can make in his rookie year. In the preseason, he turned heads with a 27-yard touchdown against the Bengals, getting so excited that he left the football on the ground as he celebrated with teammates. Quarterback Jayden Daniels walked over from the sidelines and grabbed it, giving it to the rookie so he’d always have the game ball from his first NFL touchdown.
Once the Commanders’ 53-man roster was set, Croskey-Merritt traded out his preseason jersey number for a new one — No. 22 — and he doesn’t have to worry about anyone else taking that number this season. Teammates, coaches and fans already know what to call him, another huge change from his humble beginnings in college football.
“He’s been called Bill his entire life,” Gonzales said. “I call him Jacory. His mom and dad call him Jacory, but everybody else calls him Bill. Always smiling, but ultra, ultra competitive, wants to be the best at everything he does.Â
“He’s going to do wonderful things in D.C.”
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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