Bio

CAREER: Explosive, versatile playmaker who is one of the greatest receivers in Mississippi State history … Elected to return for his senior season after a prolific junior campaign … Became the first MSU WR to earn back-to-back seasons of first-team All-SEC … Shattered seven school records – three single season and four career … The school record holder in consecutive games with a reception (35), receptions (199), 100-yard receiving games (10) and receiving yards (2,528) … Can play every position at receiver and did so during his career … Appeared in 50 games with 27 starts … Also ranks second in school history in career receiving touchdowns (22) … Finished ninth in SEC history in catches … Accounted for 25 touchdowns – 22 receiving, one rushing, one punt return and one passing … Produced double-digit reception games five times … Returned 37 punts for 317 yards and one score … Underwent surgery on his groin on March 9, 2016, missed spring practice but was back to full strength for the 2016 season … Earned his degree from MSU in Dec. 2016 … Arrived in Starkville as a Parade All-American out of Texas … Selected to the Senior Bowl.

SENIOR (2016): Garnered first-team All-SEC honors for the second straight year … Led the SEC in touchdown catches (12) and ranked second in catches (72), sixth in receiving yards (917) and fourth in receptions per game (5.5) … Started all 13 games … Produced three 100-yard receiving games, which was fourth in the league … Ranked 17th nationally in touchdown receptions … Led all SEC wideouts in 10+ yard plays from scrimmage (38) … Had a career-best 171 yards receiving and two touchdowns to go along with 10 catches against Arkansas (11/19) … Broke the career receiving yards record with three catches for 23 yards at Alabama (11/12) … Part of a dominating performance against Texas A&M, hauling in two touchdown catches in the first half and finishing with 98 yards (11/5) … Caught nine passes for 107 yards against Samford (10/29) … Tossed the first touchdown pass of his career against South Carolina, connecting with Donald Gray for a 17-yard strike and also added a receiving score in the win (9/10) … Led comeback at UMass with eight receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns (9/24) … Hauled in six passes for 89 yards and made a 7-yard touchdown catch in the final minutes to bring MSU within three points at LSU (9/17) … Became the school’s all-time leader in receptions with five catches and a touchdown at Kentucky (10/22).  

JUNIOR (2015): A first-team All-SEC receiver as selected by the league’s coaches after shattering school records for receptions (88), 100-yard games (5) and consecutive 100-yard receiving games (4) … Started all 13 games … The first MSU WR to earn first-team All-SEC honors since Eric Moulds in 1995 … Became just the second 1,000-yard receiver in school history and the first since Mardye McDole in 1978 … Led the SEC in receptions per game (6.8) … His 70 catches in conference games led the SEC and were the second-most nationally … Ranked fourth in the league in receiving yards (1,007) … His 88 catches registered seventh in SEC single-season annals … Accounted for seven touchdowns – five receiving, one rushing, one punt return … Led all Power 5 Conference receivers in receptions during the month of November (41) … Had a game-high seven catches for 66 yards in the win at No. 25 Auburn (9/26) … Collected a game-high 103 receiving yards on 11 catches at No. 14 Texas A&M (10/3) … Touched the ball five times for 139 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in the Troy victory (10/10), recording a 59-yard touchdown reception and a 77-yard punt return TD all in the first quarter ... Registered 115 receiving yards on 11 receptions in the victory at Missouri (11/5), catching one touchdown pass … Had a game-high eight catches for 114 yards against No. 2 Alabama (11/14) … Incredible game in shootout at Arkansas (11/21), notching a career-high 154 receiving yards on 10 receptions with two touchdowns … Made a one-handed 55-yard TD catch that was the No. 1 play on SportsCenter Top 10 … Totaled 112 receiving yards on a career-high 12 receptions against No. 18 Ole Miss (11/28) … The 12 catches were the third-most in school history and the most since Eric Moulds had a school-record 15 in 1995 … Stellar stretch of four straight 100-yard receiving games to close the regular season … Rushed for and caught a touchdown in the Belk Bowl (12/30) … His 33-yard rushing TD in the second quarter was the first of his career.

SOPHOMORE (2014): Appeared in all 13 games and started vs. Vanderbilt (11/22) … A member of the 2014 SEC Academic Honor Roll … Reeled in 30 catches for 489 yards and five touchdowns … Had two 100-yard receiving games … His receiving yards and touchdowns both ranked second on the team … Averaged 16.3 yards per catch … Also saw time in the second half of the season as a punt returner … Returned seven punts for a total of 75 yards … Averaged 10.7 yards per punt return … Started the season in grand fashion against Southern Miss (8/30) with three catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns … The touchdown grabs were from 35 and 21 yards out … Was vital in a close win over Arkansas with four receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown … Caught a 69-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for what went on to be the game-winning score … Opened the fourth quarter at Alabama (11/22) with a four-yard touchdown catch … Surpassed 100 yards receiving again in the Capital One Orange Bowl (12/31) with 102 yards on six catches with one touchdown … The touchdown grab came on a 42-yard Hail Mary deflection to close the first half … Longest punt return of the season came in the Orange Bowl with a 34-yard run back in the fourth quarter … Returned two punts in the game for a total of 51 yards.

FRESHMAN (2013): Finished the year with nine catches for 115 yards … Played in 11 games … Had season-highs in catches with three against Alcorn State (9/7) and Troy (9/21) … Recorded 46 yards receiving vs. Alcorn State, including a season-long 23 … Made one catch for 17 yards against Kentucky (10/24) … Had one catch for eight yards in his first career collegiate game (vs. Oklahoma State).

HIGH SCHOOL: Named First-Team Parade All-American after a standout career at John Tyler . . . Finished his senior campaign for the Lions with 86 catches for 1,594 yards and 21 touchdowns . . . Helped head coach Ricklan Holmes and the Lions advance to the Texas 4A state semifinals . . . Caught 10 passes for 132 yards and a score in the 57-53 loss to Guyer as Tyler finished with a 13-2 record . . . As a junior, hauled in 99 passes for 1,335 yards and 15 touchdowns . . . Caught 23 passes for 313 yards and five scores as a sophomore . . . Rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals, Scout, 247Sports and ESPN . . . Named to the ESPN 300 and rated the No. 22 prospect in the talent-rich Texas prep ranks.

PERSONAL: Born Frederick Darrell Ross Jr. on May 19, 1995 … Nickname is “Junebug” … Son of Fred Ross Sr. and Kay McCalister … Cousin is Aqua Franklin, former WNBA player, MSU women’s basketball assistant and current Kansas Associate Head Coach … Wears the No. 8 because he wore that since he was a freshman in high school … Majoring in human sciences … Twitter handle is @The_boss8.