Jordan Cronkrite to transfer from Florida

Florida running back Jordan Cronkrite has been granted permission to transfer, the school announced in a Thursday statement.

"We wish Jordan nothing but the best and will do everything we can to support and assist him and help him get what he wants,'' Gators head coach Jim McElwain said.

Ryan Bartow of 247Sports reports that Cronkrite is aiming to enroll at a school for the spring semester.

Cronkrite was a key late addition to Florida’s 2016 recruiting class, and was rated a four-star athlete by the 247Sports Composite. He played as Kelvin Taylor’s backup for much of the 2015 season as a true freshman, finishing fourth on the team with 157 rushing yards, but second behind Taylor in carries at the position, with 44.

Cronkrite also entered Florida’s 2016 season as the nominal starter at running back, though the Gators used a four-back rotation in practice for more than half of the season. Cronkrite quickly fell behind Jordan Scarlett, Lamical Perine, and Mark Thompson in that rotation, and failed to gain 50 yards in a game in his Florida career.

Cronkrite was also not with the Gators in Jacksonville for Florida’s win over Georgia in late October, with his scrubbing his popular Twitter account of all mentions of Florida at the time seen as a sign of a likely impending departure from the program. Cronkrite did return to the fold after that game, but got just five carries over Florida’s final five games, and finished 2016 with fewer carries and rushing yards than he posted as a freshman.

Cronkrite has three years to play two more seasons of college football, and might be a fine fit at a smaller school where he can be a more prominent option. He was unlikely to play more than a supporting role at Florida; falling behind both Scarlett and Perine in the Gators’ rotation meant that Cronkrite would be no more than the likely backup for as long as he remained in Gainesville.

Florida also has newly-minted four-star recruit Malik Davis in its 2017 recruiting class, and seemingly could yet reel in former commit Adarius Lemons again, given Lemons’s continued public admiration for the Gators.

We wish Cronkrite the best over the remainder of his collegiate career.