Pivot Ross has CFL goods
Athletic, intelligent QB Alex Ross tailor-made for the CFL
If Alex Ross is a prototypical CFL quarterback, Carson Wentz is the model of what the NFL wants.
At 6-5 and 237 pounds, Wentz has four inches and 30 pounds on Ross and flips on the power switch when he throws the football.
After leading North Dakota State to its fifth straight Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) title, Wentz became the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, by the Philadelphia Eagles, despite the fact his college mastery came against the likes of Missouri State and Western Illinois.
Ross — whose signing was announced this week by the CFL’s B.C. Lions — went head-to-head against Wentz in their respective junior seasons, quarterbacking the Carolina Coastal Chanticleers in a playoff game against the Bison in Fargo, N.D., that was shown nationally on ESPN.
While the Chants lost 39-32, Ross ran for two touchdowns. He completed just 11 of 24 pass attempts for 197 yards — for good reason. He separated his right shoulder in the first quarter.
“It was a back-and-forth game, a tough loss,” Ross says. “The injury was to my AC joint, but I was so pumped with adrenalin I was able to play through it. I had surgery a few weeks later.
“Strange as it seems, it was a blessing. I came back stronger. I could throw longer, with more accuracy, after going through all the extensive rehab drills.
“I’m extremely excited to show the (Lions) coaches what I’m capable of.”
The CFL team already has a good idea.
It’s a fast two-hour drive from Conway, N.C., home of Coastal Carolina, to Pinehurst, N.C., where Ryan Rigmaiden, the Lions’ director of U.S. scouting, is based. Rigmaiden said he’s been tracking Ross’ progress for three years.
Indeed, the quarterback worked out for the Lions at a free-agent camp last year in Dallas. Still, believing that Ross remained fixated on NFL opportunities, and not truly committed to the CFL option, the Lions decided not to invite him to mini-camp or training camp.
“I’ve seen him a ton,” Rigmaiden says. “He broke every passing record Coastal Carolina ever had. He’s a good decision-maker, really accurate and throws a good ball. He can sling it. He’s a humble kid, too. His intangibles are off the charts.”
Coastal Carolina’s all-time leader in a host of passing categories, Ross was the first quarterback selected to the All-Big South first team for three consecutive seasons. He was 33-8 as a starter (. 805 winning percentage).
In 2015, Ross became just the fourth Chanticleer to be named an FCS All-American. The other three — quarterback Tyler Thig- pen (2006), a Vikings draft pick, Panthers/Redskins super villain cornerback Josh Norman (2011), and Bears rookie offensive lineman Chad Hamilton (2014), who retired before his pro career began — were all NFL-bound after graduation.
Undrafted, Ross got a look from the Atlanta Falcons at their rookie camp last year, but not an invitation to their main camp. He wants to believe the measuring tape had something to do with it. All three of the quarterbacking Matts on the Falcons’ current roster — starter and MVP candidate Matt Ryan, backup Matt Schaub and practice roster QB Matt Simms, range between 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-6 and come with pedigrees from Boston College, Virginia and Tennessee.
An academic All-American at Coastal Carolina — the Georgia native is one class short of completing his master’s in business — Ross was unaware the campus even had a touch football team, until he dropped in on a whim while on a recruiting visit to Wake Forest.
The first football player in Big South history to be both a conference player of the year and conference scholar-athlete of the year, Ross graduated cum laude from CCU, but with no sense of athletic entitlement.
“I’m a realist,” he says. “I’m just over six feet (and 200 pounds). And a lot of teams overlook you because of it. Despite my production in college, I was a long shot (for the NFL).
“But I believe I have the ability to play at the next level. I play with fire and energy. You don’t have to worry about me, on or off the field.”
Says Lions head coach Wally Buono: “He’s not big. And he’s probably not Russell Wilson. But we’d like to believe he has some of the same characteristics as Jonathon Jennings — very athletic, with a great arm.”
There will be no comparison with Wentz this time — only Jennings, and whether Ross is able to hang with another young quarterback marked for greatness.
I believe I have the ability to play at the next level. I play with fire and energy. You don’t have to worry about me, on or off the field.