The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787035
MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 75 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE MEASURABLES • At Nike's The Opening 2016 Finals in Beaverton, Ore., Ross recorded a 4.84-second 40-yard dash and a 4.36-sec- ond 20-yard shuttle. He also posted a 31.4-inch vertical jump and a 35.5-foot power throw. Ross earned a Nike+ Foot- ball Rating of 89.79 from those results. STATISTICS • Tallied 136 tackles (78 solo), 19 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one inter- ception as a senior. He also carried the ball 45 times for 244 yards and caught 12 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. • Recorded 173 tackles (110 solo), in- cluding 22 for a loss, as a junior. He also had nine forced fumbles, notched eight sacks and snared three interceptions. • Made 123 tackles as a sophomore. • Recorded 35 tackles and an interception as a freshman. HONORS • Helped St. Mary's to three consecutive Division III State Championships his last three years in high school. • Named a MaxPreps second-team All-American as a senior; the site also picked him as a first-team Junior All-American in 2015, a second-team Sophomore All-American in 2014 and a second-team Freshman All-American in 2013. • Named the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year for Michigan in 2016 and also made the newspaper's All-USA Michigan first team. • Named to the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Teams as a junior and senior. • 2016 MLive Defensive Player of the Year for the state. • Came in at No. 3 on the Detroit News Blue Chip List and Detroit Free Press Fab 50 as a senior. • 2015 AP Player of the Year for Michigan, Division 3-4. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Attended the Rivals Camp Series Cleveland in 2015 and Columbus in 2016. • Invited to the 2014 Rivals250 Underclassmen Challenge. • Attended Nike's The Opening regional camp in Chicago in 2016. • Traveled to the Polynesian Bowl in Hawai'i, Jan. 21, but did not participate. RECRUITMENT • Committed March 22, 2016 after being viewed as a strong Michigan lean throughout much of his recruitment. • Lone official visit was to Michigan (Dec. 9). Ross was a key part in recruiting other in-state players to U-M. • Former running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley and line- backers coach Chris Partridge spearheaded the recruitment. NOTABLE • Born Oct. 31, 1999. • His brother, James, was a four-year letterman at Michigan from 2012-2015. 2017 PROJECTION Ross has all of the tools to succeed at U-M. With only young, unproven players ahead of him, Ross could get a look at linebacker early. His instincts, athleti- cism, work ethic and intelligence may be enough to eventually catapult him to team captain status, and it will all start with playing time as a true freshman. THEY SAID IT Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's Head Coach George Porritt: "His older brother, James, and Josh have a little bit of similarities, especially the instinctive play. Josh can play a little bit more out of his range. I think Josh, from early on, made some great range plays, dropping into coverage, intercept- ing the ball out of his zones and stuff like that. He's a little bit ahead of James there. "His instincts and toughness are a lot like what we saw out of James, though. He's such an instinctive, aggressive player. He locates the ball very, very well. That's the kind of player he is, and he's been doing it since his freshman year." Rivals.com Midwest Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt: "I'll say off the top, my prediction is that Josh is going to have a better college career than James. Even though they are ac- tually rated very similarly, I just think Josh got a huge benefit in seeing what James went through. … From a measurables standpoint, Josh is a better fit for the position. He's taller and more importantly, he's longer. "The aspect of James' game that always stood out was how instinctive he was. He had such a great feel for the game. Josh has a lot of that too, but I don't think it's quite on the level as James. Josh has very good linebacker instincts, but James was just ultra-instinctive. Josh has better size and what he brings to the table physically is on a higher level." Linebackers Coach Chris Partridge: "Josh is a great kid. He's physical, he's tough, and he's hard-nosed. He is one of those guys you think about when you think Michigan football and the level of physicality we play with here. He is going to be a middle linebacker for us. We are glad that he is following in his brother's footsteps." Defensive Coordinator Don Brown: "Josh is a tremendous fundamental linebacker. He is also an excellent blitzer. He is an aggressive player and a great tackler, and his fundamen- tals are off the charts. Josh plays with tremendous passion at the linebacker position, and with his brother having played here he obviously has the right bloodlines. He can play ei- ther of the inside two positions, so he has position flexibility." JOSHUA ROSS LINEBACKER 6-2 • 221 ST. MARY'S PREPARATORY SOUTHFIELD, MICH. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 222 15 (OLB) 3 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 196 10 (ILB) 3 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 202 8 (ILB) 5 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 236 15 (OLB) 5 Ross tallied 467 tackles in his four-year prep career, helping Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary 's win the Division III state title each of his final three seasons. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM RIVALS.COM MIDWEST RECRUITING ANALYST JOSH HELMHOLDT "My prediction is that Josh is going to have a better college career than James [Ross, his older brother who lettered at U-M from 2012-15]."