Getting to Know: Jordan Cronkrite
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After about six weeks of waiting back at home since his last day of school on May 8, four-star running back Jordan Cronkrite was eager to finally arrive in Gainesville on Monday night before the start of orientation.
Originally, the coaching staff tried to see if there would be a way that Cronkrite could enroll for the start of the Summer A semester on May 11. But ultimately, Palmetto Bay (Fla.) Westminster Christian School did not process his transcripts in time, which prevented that from happening, according to his father, Jack Cronkrite.
"He's really ready to get up there," Jack Cronkrite told Inside the Gators on Monday afternoon before their family made the trip up to Gainesville. "They were trying to see if there was a way if he could get up there for Summer A, because he really didn't want to sit around here for six weeks with school being out. But his school couldn't get his transcripts, so he's dying right now to be honest. He really is.
"The school just didn't do it. They processed everybody's transcripts at the same time. They didn't get finished until the first week of June, but it was just the senior class as a whole. It wasn't just him individually or anything like that. They just did it for the school overall. That's all it was."
Now Cronkrite, who graduated from Westminster Christian on May 16, is finally where he wants to be after counting down the days at home. According to his father, Cronkrite plans to major either in broadcasting or criminal justice at UF.
"He's looking forward to it," Jack Cronkrite said. "A lot of those kids, they all keep in touch anyways. He knew before I did before we got the notice of where he was living. He was like, 'I already know.' I was like, 'All right.' He's ready. The anticipation is just killing him."
Ranked the No. 25 tailback and the No. 224 overall player in Rivals' class of 2015 rankings, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Cronkrite was a late pickup for the Gators on a successful National Signing Day on Feb. 4 when he chose Florida over Miami and West Virginia.
The versatile Cronkrite will have plenty of competition though for playing time at the running back position during this second half of summer and fall training camp. Florida returns Kelvin Taylor, a key contributor from last season, at tailback and also brings back Adam Lane, who couldn't capitalize on his momentum from winning the Birmingham Bowl MVP due to a hamstring injury this spring. Jordan Scarlett, the No. 188 overall talent in the Rivals250, was another addition the Gators made at tailback in the class of 2015.
To see the field this season, Cronkrite will have to showcase his worth during the next few months, especially as an inside runner and pass-catcher out of the backfield.
"He plays with a chip on his shoulder," Jack Cronkrite said. "To be honest, from a couple of things I think he's showing up there with an even bigger chip on his shoulder with something to prove. In between that, just his overall ability to finish runs - tough runner but also has the speed. A lot of people don't think he's fast, which I find hilarious. His whole senior year he played with a bad hip flexor and nobody really knows that, but he could still run a 4.52 laser-timed with a bad hip."
Jack Cronkrite said one of his son's goals in his first season as a Gator is to improve his weight and strength to be better suited for the rigorous play of the SEC.
"We were talking, and he was like, 'Oh, I've got to get bigger.' I was like, 'No, you've got to get stronger,'" explained Jack Cronkrite. "His speed, his footwork, he always wants to keep improving that because it can never be good enough. You have to be better every day.
"This is actually the first time I think in his whole life of football that he gets to concentrate on just playing running back alone. Every other time in high school or in Pop Warner, he played five or six positions. Now he gets to focus just on that."