Jackson Ross had a rough start to his first full season at Tennessee versus Virginia, but he eventually turned into a
dependable member of the Vols’ special teams unit. The 24-year-old Australian punter was named Tennessee’s only
pick to the SEC All-rookie Team on Thursday, reaping one of the benefits of his outstanding redshirt rookie
campaign in 2023. The accolade placed him in very good company; Dustin Colquitt was the last Vols punter to be
named an all-freshmen by the league in 2001.
When Tennessee recruited Ross to its 2022 recruiting class this summer, it was a latecomer to the American college
football scene’s influx of Australian punters. He relocated to a new nation just weeks before
Ross, who redshirted the previous season, averaged 42.8 yards on 48 punts, enough for sixth place in the SEC and
third place nationally among freshmen punters. He also contributed to Tennessee’s fifth-place finish in the SEC and
twentieth-place finish in the country in net punting.
Ross had nine punts of 50 yards or more, and he pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line eighteen times. His
longest punt of the season was a 71-yarder against Alabama in October. In that game, Ross broke the school record
when he totaled 266 yards on five punts for a 53.2-yard average. This is the best single-game average (minimum five
punts) in Tennessee history, surpassing Jimmy Colquitt’s two 53.0-yard averages (Auburn 1983 and LSU 1982).
His punt of 71 yards was the Vols’ longest since 2018.
Ross, who was proficient with rollout punts in the Australian style and could kick with either foot, was a crucial
component of Tennessee’s victory over Texas A&M in October. His punt down to the Aggies’ 1-yard line set up a
series of events that culminated in
Throughout the whole season, Tennessee allowed just 5 net yards on seven punt returns, enough for third place in
the SEC and fifth place in the FBS.
In his home city of Melbourne, Ross attended Haileybury College before spending three years playing Australian
Rules Football for Hawthorn Football Club. Only two of the 14 SEC schools without an Australian punter this season
were Tennessee, thanks to the Prokick Australia program, which has sent numerous punters to American college
football. Ross has kept up connections with a number of collegiate punters from his native country, such as Tory
Taylor of Iowa, who will be the opposing player for the Vols against the Hawkeyes on New Year’s Day in Orlando at
the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Three players from Tennessee were named to the Associated Press All-SEC teams earlier this week: defensive end
James Pearce Jr. (first team), running back Jaylen Wright (second team), and center Cooper Mays (second team).
However, Pearce (first team) was the only player chosen by the league’s coaches to be named to the All-SEC team.
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