2016 Football Roster
Roster
Fred Ross
- Position:
- WR
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 205
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Tyler, TX
- High School/Previous School:
- John Tyler HS
2016 First-Team All-SEC (Associated Press)
2016 Second-Team All-SEC (Coaches)
2016 Senior Bowl Invitee
2016 C Spire Conerly Trophy Finalist
2015 First-Team All-SEC (Coaches)
2015 Second-Team All-SEC (Associated Press)
2014 SEC Academic Honor Roll
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.
2016 SENIOR SEASON: 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).
2015 JUNIOR SEASON: 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 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.
2014 SOPHOMORE SEASON: 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.
2013 TRUE FRESHMAN SEASON: 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” or “The Boss” … 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 … Received his undergraduate degree in human sciences in Dec. 2016 … Twitter handle is @The_boss8.
ROSS’ CAREER HIGHS
Receptions – 12, vs. Ole Miss (11-28-15)
Receiving Yards – 171, vs. Arkansas (11-19-16)
Longest Reception – 69, vs. Arkansas (11-1-14)
Receiving Touchdowns – 2, (five times) last vs. Arkansas (11-19-16)
![Jacksonville Jaguars punter Logan Cooke (9) punts during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Jets 48-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fmsstate.sidearmsports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F1%2F1%2FUSATSI_27828199.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
