After redshirt season, Jackson Ross ready to make debut with Vols
When Jackson Ross trots on the field in front of a capacity-filled Neyland Stadium for the first time, don't count on him to be awestruck.
The leap from Australian Rules Football to the SEC is a big one. So is the trek from Hawthorn, Australia to Knoxville, but Ross, 23, is no stranger to drastic changes and big moments.
After spending three seasons playing professionally for the Hawthorn Football Club, Ross transitioned to American football, signing with Tennessee in 2022. He redshirted last season and observing the game from the sidelines has him prepared to make his college football debut.
"I was put in scenarios which are going to be similar here with some fair crowds and stuff like that," Ross said. "I guess it's a different game now. I mean last year, I was watching games and thinking, 'what's that flag?' The first time they threw a flag, I didn't actually know what it was, stuff like that is going to be difficult. I've gathered knowledge on the sport now. But being around professional coaches made my transition seamless.
"I feel like I have a great bond with the coaches in terms of more like friends rather than looking up to them which good as well."
Ross is a common commodity in college football.
Coaching staffs at major programs often dip into Australia to recruit punters because of their experience playing Australian Rules Football. Ross is friends with a number of them at other Power Five programs.
"Americans usually throw footballs from a young age where (Australians) kick them and punt them," Ross said. "That's sort of engrained in us at a young age. I've probably kicked balls everyday for close to 20 years. That's just why it's so natural for us and I feel confident doing so. I played tennis growing up but mainly it was Australian football. I kicked ball after ball.
"I guess some guys don't want to punters from America. They'd rather be running backs and stuff like that. It's just an awesome opportunity for us."
Tennessee special teams coach Mike Ekeler first met Ross in October 2021, but his connection to Australian punters goes back 20 years through Prokick Australia, an organization that prepares kickers for American football and has produced several college football punters.
"Probably 20 years ago when I was at another SEC school, I started dealing with some Australian punters," Ekeler said. "Over the years, at different stops, have had different Australian punters. I have a great relationship with the guys over there who run the Prokick Australia program. John (Smith) and I go back 20 years ago.
"That is the guy who runs it and he's awesome. Just watching their guys and understanding what we wanted in a skillset, we got what we wanted."
Ross is set to replace Paxton Brooks, who spent five years in the program and averaged nearly 40 yards per punt last season, though he wasn't called on much in Tennessee's fast-paced, high-scoring offense.
"(Adjusting to living in the United States) has been awesome," Ross said. "I guess coming to a different country, adjusting to the time zone and being jet lagged for a bit was a little annoying. But once I started practicing, learning from Paxton and getting to know all the boys, it made the transition pretty seamless for awhile to be honest.
"Coming into the season, it puts me in a good stead to take what I learned from last year and put that into scenarios that I am being put into training at the moment."
Ross will get to punt in as close to a game-like experience at Neyland Stadium than he has been in on Saturday during the Orange and White Game, but he's been in high-pressure situations before– valuable experience for playing in the pressure cooker that is a Saturday in the SEC.
"As far as acclimating goes, he's a tremendous leader," Ekeler said. "He's been a professional and he's been in that arena playing in front of 100,000 people. He goes out to Neyland and he's like, 'Yeah, that's pretty cool. That is kind of what I'm used to.' It's a great fit and he's a great guy."
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