Jackson Ross had a rough start to his first full season at Tennessee against 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 selection to the SEC All-Freshman Team on Thursday, reaping one of the benefits of his outstanding redshirt freshman 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.
A few weeks before the 2018 season began, Ross moved to a new country after redshirting the previous one. He averaged 42.8 yards on 48 punts, ranking sixth overall in the SEC and third nationally among freshman punters. Ross also helped Tennessee rank fifth in the SEC and 20th nationally in net punting. Tennessee was a latecomer to the movement of Australian punters in American college football. Ross was added to Tennessee’s 2022 recruiting class last summer.
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 program 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).
In October, Tennessee defeated Texas A&M thanks in large part to Ross’s ability to kick with both feet and his effective rollout punts in the Australian style. Ross’s punt down to the Aggies’ 1-yard line set up a play that saw Dee Williams return a punt for the game-winning touchdown.
