Dane Cruikshank

: A two-year starter at Arizona, Cruikshank had an up-and-down junior season as the starting boundary cornerback in 2016 before transitioning to the Wildcats’ starting SPUR position (hybrid safety role) as a senior where he showed off his athleticism in space. He appeared most comfortable as an overhang defender, blitzing, covering the run and covering tight ends or slot receivers. Cruikshank quickly finds his top speed and is rarely out-flanked in pursuit, looking to tune up his target upon arrival. He shows quick reaction skills to close, but lacks the anticipation or discipline to be a playmaker in coverage. Overall, Cruikshank has the athleticism that lights up the stopwatch and his versatility and competitive nature translate to the NFL where he can push for playing time at strong safety. BACKGROUND: A no-star cornerback recruit out of high school, Dane Cruikshank (CROOK-shank) was a standout football and track performer at Ayala, earning all-region honors as a defensive back. He received recruiting interest from several FBS programs, but didn’t have the grades to qualify and enrolled at Citrus College in a suburb of Los Angeles. After two seasons at the JUCO level, he was a three-star recruit and committed to Arizona over offers from BYU, Utah and Iowa State. Cruikshank redshirted in 2015 and earned the starting boundary cornerback position in 2016 (12 starts), recording 60 tackles, nine passes defended and two interceptions. He moved to a hybrid safety position as a senior and posted 75 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, eight passes defended and three interceptions. Cruikshank accepted his invitation to the 2018 East-West Shrine Game.

in our view

Cruikshank has the athleticism that lights up the stopwatch and his versatility and competitive nature translate to the NFL where he can push for playing time at strong safety.

strengths

Speed is instant, not build-up…covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time…click-and-close burst to drive on plays…smart pursuit angles and controls his gears well to stay composed upon arrival…plays a physical brand of football, delivering pop as a tackler…strong hands to finish when he wraps…tall, durable frame…aggressive at the top of routes to disrupt pass-catchers…floats under zones with the ball skills to make plays on the ball when in position (joined Stanford’s Justin Reid as the only players to intercept both USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen in 2017)…senior captain and tempo-setter – loves to challenge receivers and NFL coaches will love his competitive spirit…versatile starting experience, spending time at cornerback, safety, nickel and linebacker – started all 25 games the past two seasons.

weaknesses

Inconsistent strike zone as a tackler…needs to calm his feet when breaking down in motion to secure stops…flat-footed stance and high center of gravity in coverage, leading to an unbalanced transition…hands-on defender and panics easily downfield, attracting laundry from officials…uncomfortable with his back to the ball, hurting his man-coverage skills…route recognition and diagnose skills in coverage are undeveloped…smaller hands and only average length for his frame…position “fit” might be an issue for certain schemes.

Played high school football at Ayala

PrepStar All-West Region.

Son of Dana Cruikshank and Beverley Jackson

Majoring in general studies.

2017

defensive
TFL	QB HUR	TOT	TD	PD	SACKS	SOLO
5.0	0.0	64.0	0.0	5.0	1.0	49.0

interceptions
TD	AVG	YDS	INT
0.0	21.7	65.0	3.0

2016

fumbles
REC	LOST	FUM
0.0	1.0	1.0

defensive
TFL	QB HUR	TOT	TD	PD	SACKS	SOLO
1.5	0.0	60.0	0.0	7.0	0.0	53.0

interceptions
TD	AVG	YDS	INT
0.0	1.5	3.0	2.0