Prospect Fits: Jordan Ross Perfectly Fits The SEC
The most cliche way to begin this article would be with the SEC slogan, but I'm going to refrain, hard as that may be. The point is, five-star edge rusher Jordan Ross looks like an SEC football player on tape; he's violent, athletic, and long, which are the three buzzwords that SEC coaches use to describe prospects on the recruiting trail.
Ross stands 6-4.5 and 215 pounds with elite athleticism. He was timed running a 4.60-second forty-yard dash and a 35" vertical jump, reflecting his basketball athleticism. The Alabama native plays for Vestavia Hills High School in Birmingham and has seen Power-5 talent for years. Tennessee has been recruiting him for a long time and seems to be in the driver's seat - he has official visits scheduled with the Vols, Georgia, Florida, and Texas. Ross has been to Georgia and Tennessee three times, more than any other program. He doesn't come without flaws, but the intangibles and ceiling are immense.
We've already mentioned his athleticism and size, but there are more intangible components that make him a blue-chip rusher. Ross's length and hand-to-eye coordination are overwhelming for opposing offensive tackles. He lines up in a two-point stance as a stand-up edge rusher, allowing him to bend across the edge and quickly react to what's in front of him. He can get pushed off the ball in the run game, something that must be corrected if he's going to become a three-down edge rusher. However, his pass-rush skillset is that of a two-year SEC veteran; Ross understands how to use his hands and has many pass-rush moves. He has a patented rip move that stuns tackles. Ross wins the pad leverage battle and then uses his outside hand to turn the tackle outside. From there, he dips his shoulders and can bend the edge through the tackle's outside shoulder to get free and attack the quarterback.
This isn't a tentative player - when Ross sees something, he attacks the football. He gets from a stand-still to his top speed quickly and violently, often using his shoulders as battering rams when being chipped by backs and tight ends in pass protection. Offenses try to confuse Ross and get him to bite early, but he clearly understands what he's looking at. In his junior season of high school, Ross was calling out tendencies and formations to the rest of his teammates, helping THEM know where the play was going. And again, even when he makes a mistake, his tools allow him to fix the issue instantly.
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