With all the new faces in town and the elite returners on campus too, it might be easy for some Tennessee football fans to forget about Jordan Ross. Since signing with the team as a member of the 2024 class, he hasn't quite lived up to the hype just yet.
The youngster will be quick to let people know that his mindset hasn't been where it needs to be early on in his career in Knoxville. That has changed in a big way this offseason. Ross knows that he needs to be a force in the trenches for Tennessee in 2025 now that James Pearce Jr. is out of town and with the Falcons. Straight up, he knows what it takes to be an impact player for the Vols this fall:
Former five-star Jordan Ross changes his tune ahead of sophomore season at Tennessee.
— GoVols247 (@GoVols247) August 7, 2025
“I’d say last year I didn’t really take it that serious. ... This year I’ve kind of matured and I took up another role and I’ve been trying to get better.”
🔗 https://t.co/sOlHCM7dcO #Vols
Tennessee EDGE Jordan Ross is ready to take things seriously with the Vols
On one hand, his comments via reporter Patrick Brown of Go Vols 247 might upset some people. He didn't take his freshman year seriously? Ross was used to being the big man on campus in high school, but that changed when he got to Tennessee.
He appeared in 11 games, but posted only three tackles during his true frosh campaign. That's not what anyone expected out of a 5-star standout, who was also ranked the No. 1 EDGE in the country for the 2024 class. People were ready to write him off as overrated.
Now, though, Ross is playing with a different attitude and he is tired of people overlooking him. Instead, he's hard at work at fall camp, doing the little things to make sure he is both physically and mentally ready to work for Week 1 against Syracuse.
Leading up to that game, most of the attention for the pass-rushers has been on Joshua Josephs, as he's going to be the leader of the group. However, just like fellow 5-star signee WR Mike Matthews, Ross wants to put a disappointing first year in the SEC behind him and push forward to reach his potential in '25. Only time will tell if that happens or not, but he's already way ahead of the game thanks to the different way he's attacking things.