CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fred Ross wasn’t happy with his performance in the Mississippi State football team’s season opener.
Although the junior wide receiver led his team in catches (five) and receiving yards (75) in a 34-16 victory against Southern Mississippi on Sept. 5 in Hattiesburg Sept. 5, he knew he had potential for more, so he looked back on how he prepared for the game and had a revelation.
“I just started focusing more at practice,” Ross said. “That whole week, I don’t think I had a great practice. That went to show exactly how key preparation is. I’ve just been practicing a lot harder.”
Ross has been practicing harder since that game. As a result, he has had one of the best seasons by a wide receiver in program history. He will look to deliver one more strong performance when MSU (8-4) faces North Carolina State (7-5) at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN) in the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium.
The Tyler, Texas, native’s new focus at practice helped him set a school record with 81 catches for 933 yards and four touchdowns. Ross also broke the MSU for most 100-yard receiving games (five) and consecutive 100-yard receiving games (four). He was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection by the league’s coaches and Athlon and a second-team selection by The Associated Press.
Entering the season, junior wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson attracted most of the attention. Wilson still managed to make 55 catches for 822 yards and nine touchdowns, but Ross benefited from the amount of attention Wilson attracted from defenses, which wasn’t surprising to co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales.
“I don’t think it ever just clicks for a guy,” Gonzales said. “I think you get what you put into it. He’s worked extremely hard. The clicking process takes part in the offseason. This is just refining everything.”
Ross had nine catches for 115 yards as a freshman in 2013 and 30 catches for 489 yards and five touchdowns last season. He didn’t mind switching from outside receiver to slot receiver in the middle of the 2014 season because he was willing to do whatever it took to help his team win.
But slot receiver isn’t the same as outside receiver. Playing that position requires a receiver to run more underneath routes against different defenders. Blocking also was a big adjustment, but Ross found a way to get the job done.
“If he’s got to block, he blocks,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “Running routes underneath or catching screens or running the ball, he does that. He can go vertically down the field. He doesn’t worry too much. He worries about doing his job and doing it to the best of his ability.
“Because of that you see the success he’s had, that he’s worried about that and not how many catches or yards.”
In eight SEC games, Ross led the league with 70 catches for 746 yards and three touchdowns. His 8.8 catches and 93.3 yards per game were the most by a receiver in league games. All four of Ross’ double-digit catch games came against SEC teams, including 12 against Ole Miss, 11 against Missouri and Texas A&M, and 10 against Arkansas.
“I’m a competitor, so anytime we’re playing those top teams like Alabama and LSU, I want to go out there and dominate because I want to win,” Ross said.
Ross said before the season started he didn’t care how many catches he had, but he wanted 1,000 receiving yards. He is 67 yards away from that plateau, and 102 away from tying MSU’s single-season record for yards. Mardye McDole had 1,035 yards on 48 catches in 1978.
Even though Ross expects to end the season with 1,000 yards, he’ll be fine if he doesn’t hit that mark. If Ross reaches that plateau, he wants it to come with a victory.
“It’ll be fun, but if we don’t win, it’s not going to be fun at all,” Ross said.
n MSU toured Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday morning.
The players and coaches got to ride in street cars on the track and reached speeds of 110 mph.
The team took a picture around a personalized stock car featuring an M-State emblem. Mullen was presented with an official Belk Bowl NASCAR jacket by Will Webb, the bowl’s executive director.
n Junior center Jamaal Clayborn was on crutches as practice ended. He left practice Saturday with an apparent right foot/ankle injury and didn’t return. His status is unknown for the bowl game.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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