Wisconsin Football: Freshman WR Aron Cruickshank

Wisconsin Football wide receiver Aron Cruickshank is the first subject of the Freshman Focus is a series. Get to know the incoming freshman for the Badgers.

Wisconsin Football has a pretty talented group of freshmen coming to Madison this fall. This class is headlined by the speedy receiver, Aron Cruickshank, out of Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, NY). Coming out of high school, he was a 3-star recruit and ranked the 510th overall recruit and 6th in the state of New York.

In high school, Cruickshank played both quarterback and wide receiver. His junior season, he ran for 1,009 yards and had 24 touchdowns. As Jesse Temple points out on Land of 10, his high school coach Danny Landberg thinks Cruickshank could provide an option as a wildcat quarterback as well.

He also competed in track and field in high school. “Cruickshank set a long jump meet record at the USA Track & Field National Youth Championships with a leap of 23 feet, 2¾ inches. He set a high jump record in 2012 in the boys 11-12 age division at the same meet ― a record that holds today,” according to Temple.

His versatility and speed caught the attention of a lot of elite schools. He earned offers from nine different schools, including Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

When making his decision, Cruickshank was pretty high on Penn St., but his coach told him to remain patient and feel out all his options. Luckily for Wisconsin, that’s what he did. He had an unofficial visit in Madison and a few days later he committed.

Why Wisconsin?

“It was different than what I’m used too and I could stand out here more than Penn State.,” Cruickshank told Badger of Honor when asked about what set Wisconsin apart from other schools.

Cruickshank stands just 5’9″ and weighs 155 pounds. By Big Ten standards, you’d think he would be limited and undersized. Think again. Where he lacks in size, he makes up for in speed. His highlight video on Hudl says it all. “2 Fast for You”

The ability to run the ball down the throat of the defense is Wisconsin’s M.O.; it hasn’t been known for speed in the past. Cruickshank can give the offense some speed it hasn’t had in a long time. He also believes he can have an impact on special teams.

“I feel I can make a measurable impact by returning kicks and even scoring some touchdowns,” Cruickshank said.

There’s more to his game than just speed. When asked about what part of his game comes easiest, he said it was his ability to catch and make people miss.

He says he looks up to Curtis Samuel, who was a versatile athlete for Ohio State. There is some similarity between the two with their bursts of speed and the ability to make people miss when they have the ball in their hands.

Since he was an early enrollee, Cruickshank was able to take part in spring practices. Cruickshank put on a show. Jason Galloway has some stats from the Badger’s last scrimmage from spring ball.

The receiver room at Wisconsin is young and loaded. It could be tough for a freshman to make an impact on the offensive side of the football. However, I can see Cruickshank making a big difference in the return game immediately.

Next: Top 10 Wisconsin football games since 2010

Get to know the name Aron Cruickshank now, because he is going to be a big part of Wisconsin football in the future.