<body><div>In another year in a past iteration of the football program, <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/Jordan-Ross-46135102">Jordan Ross</a> would have been one of the main attractions on the first day of preseason camp as a five-star prospect who passes the eye test. Instead he is just part of the most crowded position unit on the field and his spot in particular includes a potential first-round NFL Draft pick in 2025 who is one of the team’s stars plus two other former blue-chip prospects with similar builds and skill sets. Ross is hardly an also-ran, though, because he doesn’t look like a freshman who has been in the program for about two months and does have the physical ability and mental makeup to make his mark.The highest-ranked player in <a href="https://247sports.com/college/tennessee/season/2024-football/commits/">Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class</a>, Ross committed to the Vols over <a href="https://247sports.com/college/texas/">Texas</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/florida/">Florida</a> and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/alabama/">Alabama</a> last summer. He then had a huge senior season at Vestavia Hills High School in the Birmingham area, racking up 72 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks to claim a slew of accolades. He finished the cycle as the No. 9 overall player and No. 1 edge in the class for 247Sports.While most of the freshman class was on campus in January if not December for bowl practices, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/tennessee/longformarticle/tennessee-vols-2024-recruiting-class-meet-summer-enrollees-freshman-class-breakdown-analysis-232595389/">Ross was a summer enrollee</a> who got to Tennessee in late May, and he went through his first college practice with the Vols on Wednesday morning.“It was smooth,” he said. “I’m getting the hang of everything and I’m starting to feel it out. … It was fast. It was a very fast tempo. I’m trying to get used to that and look at the play-calls and get everything down.”Like Tennessee’s other summer enrollees, Ross was busy in the winter and spring while back in Alabama. He played basketball – he nearly averaged a double-double as a junior – and then turned his focus on football. Ross worked out with his personal trainer and focused on eating a lot and drinking smoothies “trying to get big” while also following the plans the Vols sent him to help him get a headstart on learning the defense.He was around 215 pounds during hoops season and when he played in the Under Armour All-American Game in early January, but his plan worked. The 6-foot-5 Ross showed up at Tennessee at 235 pounds and quickly reached the staff’s goal (245 pounds). Now it’s about maintaining, getting his body-fat composition right and adding the necessary strength.<div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j8gIFPsk6LE?si=MqdyjUmov5tOxukG" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div>“We’re super excited about Jordan,” defensive coordinator <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/tim-banks-80/">Tim Banks</a> said during media day on Tuesday. “The biggest thing, to be honest with you, is just his size. You see those guys during the recruiting process, and I think our strength program has done a tremendous job of getting him stronger, getting him leaner, so I just love his size. He’s a kid that doesn’t say a ton, but it’s nothing to walk through our football building and see him somewhere watching tape, so I know he’s a kid who wants to be great, and his work ethic aligns with that. So we’re excited for him.“I think, again, as he continues to power through the playbook and take what he’s learning from the playbook and apply it on the field, I think he has a chance to be able to impact this program and help us in some way.”Playing time on defense as a freshman could be hard to come by for Ross through no fault of his own. The Vols simply are stacked at the LEO position, which they have recruited better than any other position outside of quarterback. <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/james-pearce-jr-46114817/">James Pearce Jr.</a> is coming off a breakout All-SEC sophomore season in 2023. <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/joshua-josephs-46101196/">Joshua Josephs</a> is a junior with two years of experience in the rotation who drew rave reviews from head coach <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/josh-heupel-173/">Josh Heupel</a> on Wednesday for the offseason he has had, and sophomore <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/Caleb-Herring-46098434">Caleb Herring</a> has transformed himself physically over his 18 months with the Vols and looks poised for a rotational role.Ross is undeterred, as most big-time prospects are. He said the depth chart didn’t impact his decision to play for the Vols. Instead he looked at it as a chance to “learn from the best and learn how to play” from a first-round prospect like Pearce.“I’d say I’m trying to play a lot,” Ross said. “I’m trying to learn everything. I’m working on learning the plays with coaches. I’m pretty much here every single day, trying to get everything down – Saturdays, Sundays – working on plays so I can do better and get better for the team.”Ross is leaning on outside linebackers coach <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/mike-ekeler-354/">Mike Ekeler</a>, defensive analyst Levorn “Chop” Harbin and other staffers trying to learn the defense. He’s also trying to emulate Pearce as much as possible. Ross is where Pearce was two years ago, a summer enrollee who was raw but had obvious physical traits such as explosiveness and length.“He teaches me, because I sit right beside hiim every day,” Ross said. “He teaches me the plays and how he got it down and how he learned it at first and everything. I’d say how he uses it, like his technique, and play fast.”Ross said he’s not worried about the depth at his position. He likes the dynamic of the room where all the players are learning from each other and how Ekeler urges the older players to help their younger teammates. It’s not a surprise to see Pearce pulling Ross to the side to give him a pointer on technique or something after a drill, which happened on Wednesday morning.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2uMo22_0ukGFgcY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2uMo22_0ukGFgcY00" width="240" height="320" ><figcaption>Jordan Ross (Photo: Caitie McMekin/Knoxville News Sentinel)</figcaption></figure>That's the accountability that Heupel has worked hard to instill throughout his program. Ross also has noticed there's no favoritism in how players are coached and said <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/rodney-garner-66/">Rodney Garner</a> and the others don't "go easy on anybody." Whether you're an NFL prospect like Pearce or new to all of it like Ross, if you mess up, you'll hear about it and be corrected.“I think it’s great,” Ross said. “They treat everybody with the same respect. Like if you do something (wrong), they’re going to yell at you, too. They’re not favoriting anybody.”The LEO position could turn out to be one of the favorites for Tennessee coaches and fans if it plays up to its potential this season.“In this league, but in general in football, if you want to be good, you’ve got to be good up front, and guys that can rush the passer, can affect the game on the first level are extremely important,” Heupel said after Wednesday’s practice. “That’s your edge guys. It’s also your interior. The depth that we’ve been able to build with the athletic traits that we’re looking for – I said it a day ago, but it’s as deep as we’ve been at that position.“We’ve got great length, athleticism, ability to bend the corner. Those guys are multiple. They can play on the first level. They can drop in some of your zone-pressure packages, and they’re really intelligent guys that can handle the volume of what they have to do within our scheme.”It’s to Ross’s credit that he already looks like some of his older teammates. The Vols recruit to a type for the LEO position: Lean, explosive athletes with length who can speed and bend around offensive tackles but have the power to hold up against the run and bully blockers.The run started with the development of Byron Young from a junior college transfer to an All-SEC player and third-round NFL Draft. Then Pearce and Josephs came in the 2022 recruiting class, Herring followed in the 2023 cycle and now in comes Ross. He admitted he’s still establishing his identity as a player and what separates him from the all his similar-looking predecessors.“I’m still trying to figure that out,” he said, “because I’m still trying to figure out my strengths. I know their strengths and everything and I’m still trying to figure out how I can do – I don’t want to say how I can do better – but how I can play similar to them.”</div></body>

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Jordan Ross the newest Tennessee five-star freshman who looks the part and wants to play early

In another year in a past iteration of the football program, Jordan Ross would have been one of the main attractions on the first day of preseason camp as a five-star prospect who passes the eye test. Instead he is just part of the most crowded position unit on the field and his spot in particular includes a potential first-round NFL Draft pick in 2025 who is one of the team’s stars plus two other former blue-chip prospects with similar builds and skill sets. Ross is hardly an also-ran, though, because he doesn’t look like a freshman who has been in the program for about two months and does have the physical ability and mental makeup to make his mark.

Jordan Ross the newest Tennessee five-star freshman who looks the part and wants to play early

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