Arizona Believes Their Star Could Miss Season Because of Eligibility Issues

Arizona could be without one of their most important pieces of the offense after there are questions about his eligibility.

Aug 31, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (1) scores a touchdown during fourth quarter at Arizona Stadium / Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Noticeably absent from Arizona's offense this past Saturday was transfer running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt.

College teams don't have to be transparent when it comes to injury reports or who is available to play each and every game, so there wasn't a whole lot of information out there regarding why the 106-yard rusher in Week 1 did not suit up.

However, some details have started to emerge regarding this situation after the game.

"There was a concern raised about his eligibility, so we were just being overcautious about that and we made that determination yesterday," head coach Brent Brennan said on Saturday.

Because of that, they decided to hold him out in case he is deemed ineligible so they wouldn't have to go back an forfeit the contest. As for their Week 1 matchup against New Mexico, the NCAA and Arizona deemed him to be eligible at the time so that game isn't in question.

Jason Scheer of 247Sports reports that "another school sent in new evidence to the NCAA and it now has to be looked at again." This stems from some questions about the true number of games he played during his time at Alabama A&M.

Both parties could deem that Croskey-Merritt is indeed eligible, which would allow him to immediately return to their lineup, but if that's not the case, then the Wildcats will be without the transfer senior for the remainder of the year.

According to Scheer, they are preparing for that to be the case.

"... Arizona is taking a cautious approach with the belief that he could miss the rest of the season ... There is currently no timetable on when a decision could be made regarding Croskey-Merritt's status for the rest of the season, but he will be held out until the NCAA once again makes a ruling," he writes.

That likely keeps him on the sidelines during their massive matchup against Kansas State on Friday.

The hope is this ruling will come quickly since the NCAA and Arizona had already cleared him in the first place and the only thing that would make him ineligible is if the new information reveals that should be the case.

This will be something to continue monitoring as the Wildcats are now likely without one of their best running backs for Week 3.