Fred Ross (American football)

Fred Ross
refer to caption
Ross with Mississippi State
No. 2, 1
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1995-05-19) May 19, 1995 (age 29)
Tyler, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:John Tyler (Tyler, Texas)
College:Mississippi State
Undrafted:2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Frederick Darrell Ross Jr.,[1] (born May 19, 1995) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Mississippi State.

High school career

Ross attended John Tyler High School in Tyler, Texas, where he caught over 200 passes and was named a First-team Parade All-American.[1]

Ross was rated as a four-star recruit by 247sports.com,[2] ESPN,[3] Rivals.com,[4] and Scout.com.[5] Ross received scholarship offers from Baylor, Memphis, Missouri, Texas Tech, Rice, and West Virginia, but committed to Oklahoma State on February 25, 2012.[6]

A year later, Ross decided to instead sign with Mississippi State.[7][8]

College career

Ross scores a touchdown in a 2015 game against Troy.

Freshman season (2013)

Ross played as a true freshman and made his debut in the first game of the 2013 season, catching a pass in a 21–3 loss to Oklahoma State in the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff.[9] Ross finished the season with nine catches for 115 yards.[1]

Sophomore season (2014)

Ross played in every game for the Bulldogs in 2014. He caught his first two touchdowns in a 49–0 rout of Southern Miss.[10] Ross came on strong in the second half of the season, with 24 catches for 382 yards over the last 7 games.[1] This included a 107-yard performance against Arkansas[11] and 102 yards in the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech.[12] Ross also saw limited action at punt returner in 2014.

Junior season (2015)

Ross has had a breakout season in 2015, leading the team in receptions. Highlights include nine receptions in a 21–19 loss to LSU,[13] 11 receptions against Texas A&M,[14] and a two-touchdown game (one receiving, one on a punt return) against Troy.[15] Ross had 10 receptions in a 51–50 thriller over Arkansas[16] and 12 receptions in an Egg Bowl loss to Ole Miss.[17] Ross finished the season with a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the Belk Bowl against NC State.[18]

Ross finished the season with a school-record 88 receptions (which was also the highest total in the SEC), and became the second receiver in MSU history to post a 1,000-yard season.

Senior season (2016)

Ross missed Spring practice before the 2016 season with a groin injury.[19] On October 22 in a game against Kentucky, Ross became the Bulldogs' career leader in receptions.[20]

Career statistics

Receiving Rushing Punt Returns
Year Team Games Rec Yds Long TD Att Yds Long TD Ret Yds Long TD
2013 Mississippi State 11 9 115 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014 Mississippi State 13 30 489 69 5 2 6 7 0 7 75 34 0
2015 Mississippi State 13 88 1,007 59 5 2 42 33 1 17 155 77 1
2016 Mississippi State 13 72 917 60 12 2 39 60 0 14 78 16 0
Career 50 199 2,528 69 22 6 87 46 1 36 293 77 1

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Ross was not drafted in the 2017 NFL draft but signed with the Carolina Panthers following the draft.[21] On September 1, 2017, he was placed on injured reserve after suffering a high ankle sprain.[22]

On August 19, 2018, Ross was waived/injured by the Panthers with a hip injury and was placed on injured reserve.[23] He was released on September 25, 2018.

Seattle Dragons

Ross was drafted by the Seattle Dragons 3rd round of the 2020 XFL Draft. The XFL is set to begin in February 2020.[24] He was waived during final roster cuts on January 22, 2020.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Fred Ross bio". HailState.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  2. ^ "Fred Ross". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  3. ^ "Fred Ross". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  4. ^ "Fred Ross". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  5. ^ "Fred Ross". Scout.com. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  6. ^ Allen, Robert (February 25, 2012). "Ross Becomes OSU's First Commit For 2013". Scout.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  7. ^ Wright, Scott (February 5, 2013). "Receiver Fred Ross switches commitment to Mississippi State". NewsOK.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  8. ^ Eberts, Wescott (February 5, 2013). "Fred Ross flips to Mississippi State from Oklahoma State". SBNation.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  9. ^ "J.W. Walsh helps No. 13 Oklahoma State beat Miss. State". ESPN.com. August 31, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  10. ^ "Mississippi St beats Southern Miss 49–0". ESPN.com. August 30, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  11. ^ "Dak Prescott's career-high 331 yards lead Mississippi St. past Arkansas". ESPN.com. November 2, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  12. ^ "Justin Thomas' four total TDs lead Georgia Tech over Mississippi State". ESPN.com. December 31, 2014.
  13. ^ "Leonard Fournette goes for 3 TDs to help LSU fend off Mississippi State". ESPN.com. September 12, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  14. ^ "Allen helps No. 14 Aggies over No. 21 Bulldogs 30–17". ESPN.com. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  15. ^ "Mississippi State beats Troy 45–17". ESPN.com. October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  16. ^ "Late block helps Mississippi State hold off Arkansas 51–50". ESPN.com. November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  17. ^ "Ole Miss knocks off Mississippi State behind strong first half". ESPN.com. November 28, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  18. ^ "Prescott, Mississippi State top NC State 51–28 in Belk Bowl". ESPN.com. December 30, 2015. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016.
  19. ^ Scarborough, Alex (April 26, 2016). "Mississippi State's Fred Ross earns spot among SEC's best wideouts". ESPN.com.
  20. ^ @@HailStateFB (October 22, 2016). "Congrats to @Theboss_8 on history! He sets a program record with his 163rd career catch! (Passing David Smith's 162)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Strickland, Bryan (April 29, 2017). "Ben Boulware, Fred Ross added as undrafted free agents". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  22. ^ Strickland, Bryan (September 1, 2017). "Panthers reduce roster to 77". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017.
  23. ^ "Panthers sign TE Jason Reese". Panthers.com. August 19, 2018.
  24. ^ Bender, Bill (October 21, 2019). "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  25. ^ Talbot, Damond (January 22, 2020). "A Full List of XFL Roster Cuts, Who was released today?". NFLDraftDiamonds.com. Retrieved January 25, 2020.