Between 2022 and 2023, Tennessee's punting game completely changed while still maintaining success.

In Josh Heupel's first two years, he used Paxton Brooks at punter who kicked in a traditional, pro-style that translates to the NFL.

Starting in 2023 and continuing into this year, Australian Jackson Ross shook things up. He uses a rugby style of punting that has completely changed the way the Vols act in the punt game.

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Special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler is excited to see Ross' progression in his redshirt sophomore season. Ross started poorly last season but caught fire as the season progressed.

This off-season, he's continued this success giving the coaching staff a lot of confidence in his abilities.

"Jackson Ross is one of the most amazing punters I’ve ever been around," Ekeler said. "I mean this guy, legitimately, we’ve built a system around him and it’s been hand-in-hand around his skill set. We’ve got a lot of things that we’ve put in this off-season that I’m beyond excited to roll out there. So what’s next about him, is just having that year of experience. He had 27 kicks, he had 55 punts last year, 27 of them were inside the 20-yard line. 17 of those were inside the 10. That’s lethal. Nobody can say that. He led the country in that and he’s gonna get better and better and better. We’ve been in the scrimmage a couple times in Neyland and he’s at 14 pooches and two of them have been on the six and the rest have been inside the four. That’s a damn weapon. I told you guys, I screwed up the first game last year and I told you he was going be a damn weapon. I didn’t lie."

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This rugby style of punting Ross employs can get tricky but when it works, it's extremely successful. After he catches the snap, he scampers to the side to let the coverage unit get down the field before booting it.

This gives him some extra yardage on the punt and helps negate any sort of return. Ross admitted that last season he just needed to build some confidence playing but that he's found it after the end of the 2023 campaign.

Now, he's ready to use his system to help the Vols in 2024.

"It's hard, you've got to sort of feel the rush and stuff like that," Ross said. "But I think we had one against South Carolina last year which definitely got called back for something that happened at the line of scrimmage but that sort of gives me an extra eight yards. Which is, you know, you can punt the ball 35 and you still have a 43-yard punt and so and so. Getting moving, it's really good to get into it and get your hips moving and stuff like that but every sort of punt is different and has its benefits."

His rugby style isn't the only thing that makes him a unique punter, though. Ross also has the ability to kick with both feet at an elite level.

This isn't a gimmick, either. He's a true switch hitter that can and will punt with both legs.

Longsnapper Matthew Salansky says its been a lot of fun to deal with this new system. It's a transition that he's had to adjust to but its been worth it.

"I love Jackson Ross," Salansky said. "And it's been really fun for me to transition from going from more of a pro-style guy to being able to do anything. Spraying it left and right, kicking with both feet, it's made my job more fun and I really enjoy working with him."

Now, the Vols are just 10 days from beginning their season. With some unproven pieces on offense, there's always a chance things could stall out early as they adjust to playing together on the field.

If this is the case, there's a safety net of Ross being able to flip the field and help the defense out.

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