STARKVILLE — After Fred Ross finished his senior season with the Mississippi State football team, he put personal grudges aside and embarked on a grueling regimen of relentless training for the NFL Combine.
“There’s guys that can run 4.2- (second 40-yard dash), but you never see that on the football field,” Ross said. “You don’t play football running 40 yards in a straight line. You never do that.”
Ross then went out and delivered an impressive outing at the combine.
On Wednesday, Ross turned his focus solely to football at MSU’s Pro Day at the Palmeiro Center. Ross and offensive lineman Justin Senior hope their performances at Pro Day help them convince a team to pick them as a late-round selection in the NFL draft, which begins April 27.
Ross and Senior were two of 19 former Bulldogs who worked out for representatives of 27 of the NFL’s 32 teams.
“I trained hard before the combine, went to the combine and felt like I competed as well as I could, so I just wanted to stand on those numbers and worry about football, focus on the drills,” Ross said. “Just come out here and be consistent, catch the ball, show I can run good routes, and show I’m a great football player. I feel like I came out here and did that.”
Ross has more dates set up to do the same thing. He said he will work out for the New England Patriots on April 4 and that he hopes to add more workouts to his list. Ross said the Patriots told him they have him on their board and expects to get into some football ideology talk there.
MSU football coach Dan Mullen feels Ross’ versatility will give him a chance to flourish, especially after a senior season in which he led the Bulldogs in receptions (72), receiving yards (917), and touchdowns (12). Among Southeastern Conference wide receivers, Ross was fourth in receiving yards and second in receptions.
“He played all three positions, he’s got the flexibility to do a lot of different things at the next level,” Mullen said. “When you have small rosters, those are pretty valuable traits.”
For Senior, weight will be a topic of discussion. Senior’s agent, Mel Bratton, told The Dispatch that Senior played in the Senior Bowl at 322 pounds. He weighed 331 at the combine.
Between the combine and Pro Day, Senior was hard at work with MSU’s nutrition and strength and conditioning staff to get his weight down to his best playing weight.
Bratton is in the process of scheduling more individual workouts with teams for Senior. Bratton said Senior met with the Cleveland Browns, who coached him in the Senior Bowl, Tuesday night. Bratton also has heard from the Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans. Senior will meet with the Texans next week.
Bratton has high hopes that Senior’s stock will rise following individual workouts and meetings.
“He has a lot of football ahead of him,” Bratton said. “He started football so late being a Canadian kid, so they’re going to want to check his football IQ to see what they’re getting.”
Bratton feels Senior has a god chance to join Ross as a late-round draft pick because he believes the draft is weak for tackles.
“He has enough film that can make it happen,” he said. “If a team falls in love with a guy, he could go higher than we think.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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