Tight End Jake Ross Breaks Down Oklahoma State Commitment

Oklahoma State picked up its 19th commitment of the 2018 class last week in NEO A&M tight end Jake Ross. Ross is currently in his second season at the junior college level having played his high school days at Coweta.

Ross picked the Cowboys over offers from three other major programs who offered scholarships: Kansas, UCF, and Coastal Carolina. It seems there was never really any doubt where the 6-foot-7, 243-pound pass-catcher was going to commit after OSU offered him a scholarship.

“That’s always been my dream school,” Ross told PFB. “I grew up loving to watch OSU football on Saturdays. That’s also where my parents went, and my mom’s family.”

Ross actually went to Stillwater last with with his parents. It was there, in Coach Gundy’s office, that he made his commitment official.

“It was actually pretty awesome,” says Ross. “We were just talking, and then he asked me ‘do you know what you want to do?’ and I said, ‘Yeah I want to be here, I want to do this.’ Everybody in the room just got happy and excited.” Ross also says his parents are very happy with his decision to join OSU next year.

What’s most interesting about Ross, is that this is only his third year playing football. He primarily played basketball before that. Ross said it was the arrival of head coach Tim Holt to Coweta in 2016 that made him consider giving football a try.

“What he wanted to do with the offense was throw the ball and that really interested me,” says Ross. “So I said ‘sign me up coach. what do you want me to do?’ and I went up there and had a lot of fun and enjoyed it.” From there, Ross got an offer to play at NEO.

In his freshman season for the Norsemen, Ross appeared in 10 games, catching 3 passes for 65 yards. So far, Ross has appeared in all three of the Norsemen’s game but has yet to record a catch. However, that doesn’t mean the team doesn’t have intentions of using him. Ross is tall, strong, and has good hands. He says he feels good about his ability to contribute at OSU whether he’s catching passes or not.

“I think I can contribute well, because a lot of the stuff I do here at NEO, will translate over there. I’ve worked really hard to get my blocking to where it is now. I’m not afraid to be physical. I love to be physical,” emphasized Ross. “I wake up every day and know I’ve got to work, work on my craft because it took a lot of hard work just to get where I am now. So I know it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get to where I want to go.”

Ross has primarily been recruited by OSU tight end coach Jason McEndoo, who paid him a visit to scout him in person several weeks ago.

“He’s a really cool dude,”says Ross about McEndoo. “He seems like a family guy. He seems like he would understand me really well because he seems like he grew up in the same fashion that I did; a go-getter, a hard worker. I’m happy I get to be coached by him.”

Ross takes the scholarship that opened back up after Nic McTear decommitted. He’s expected to graduate in December and make his way to Stillwater in January, which should give him a leg up on preparing for the 2018 season.