Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
"He's always been ready to roll at each position” — At safety and corner, Teldrick Ross locks it down for the Blue Raiders
11/3/2022 4:18:00 PM | Football
The redshirt junior defensive back leads MTSU with six pass breakups in 2022
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Teldrick Ross is apologetic running over to the interview. It's late after Wednesday practice for the Blue Raiders.
The flood lights over the practice field behind Floyd Stadium have shut off half of their lights, as the managers' gator rolls off the field with the last of the equipment. The sounds of the tech crew for that week's concert in the Murphy Center is about the only other sound on that side of campus.
"Had to catch up on what I missed at the start of practice," Ross explains. Why was he late? Class? Ross confirms. Most practice days, he wants to be ready to go for the 4 p.m. practice by around 3:10 p.m. On Wednesdays? Ross doesn't get out of class until 3:45 p.m., so he spends some extra time with cornerbacks coach Kenneth Gilstrap at the end to make sure he's ready for the weekend.
Ross has spent a lot of extra time over his five seasons in Murfreesboro, in the weight room, the training room, the meeting room, the film room, on the practice field and, for a brief time, in the outfield on Reese Smith Jr. Field. You have to when you play two positions for your football team, as well as walk-on to the baseball team on top of that.
"He's a mature guy and he knows how to work like a professional," defensive coordinator Scott Shafer says of Ross. "That's where it all starts."
Recruited to MTSU as a two-sport athlete out of Jones County High School in Gray, Ga., Ross eventually gave up roaming the outfield for the Blue Raiders to focus on the sport that got him to Murfreesboro, where his work ethic and intelligence has made him a key piece of the Blue Raiders' secondary the past two seasons, one that Shafer can play at both safety and at cornerback.
"I love being a defensive back," Ross said. "There's just something about it that makes me excited to come out here and work. When I come out here, I don't really look at it as practice, it's fun to me."
Through eight games in 2022, Ross is tied for the team lead in pass breakups with Decorian Patterson, while also leading the team in total tackles. The latter stat is not unusual for a safety, where Ross started the Blue Raiders' first six games of the season, but it's pretty unusual for a cornerback, where Ross has played his last two games, helping revitalize a unit that needed a spark in the middle of C-USA play.
Ross and his teammates held the UTEP Miners to just 191 yards through the air last week in MTSU's 24-13 win in El Paso, a game directly after holding WKU's air raid attack under 300 yards through the air in Floyd Stadium.
Those two games came after MTSU gave up over 400 yards in the air to UTSA, as well as passing plays of 68, 46 and 45 yards to UAB the week after. Ross' play at cornerback opposite Patterson, as well as Jakobe Thomas' play at safety in place of Ross, has been a big reason for the improvement.
"It was one of those deals where it was like, 'Ok, we need him to play outside a little bit,'" Shafer said of the change. "I've always believed in that, if you have somebody that can do both. And he's done a nice job working at understanding the defense. He's always been ready to roll at each position."
It helps, of course, that Ross was such a success at corner last season for the Blue Raiders, starting nine of the 12 games he played in after playing mostly nickel in 2020, his first season with extended playing time thanks to a redshirt year and a 2019 filled with hamstring injuries.
Shafer says Ross' skillset to play both positions starts with above the neck, with his learning ability, always being willing to take in more knowledge from the coaching staff, and even impart that knowledge onto his teammates. But the physical traits, his speed, his strength for a defensive back, help him excel at both.
Ross agrees with that assessment but acknowledges there's a lot of nuanced differences between the two secondary roles fans might miss on game day, things he has to adjust to with the switch.
"At safety, you're having to come down and be a lot more physical," Ross said. "At corner, it's more of a space game, you're in man-to-man coverage. You're having to go deep. Safety, you're mostly staying in the box, at cornerback, your guy might be running a post, dig, anything across the field and you've got to come back the next play and line up again."
Ross says he likes to play a lot of press coverage on the outside when he can, with so many collegiate receivers and quarterbacks relying on timing routes to move the ball these days. But he credits most of his unit's success to their communication.
"Coming from safety, I kind of know where the safety is going to be, I know where my help is," Ross said. "Decorian is a veteran guy who's been in the defense for the while, so he has veteran eyes back there and can call stuff out. Tra (Fluellen), me and him talked a lot as a safety duo, so me and him kept that same communication. Jakobe, he's a good young player coming, wants to learn a lot, keeps his nose in the book."
As for his own success? A little bit of his technique, sure. But his opposite corner is the one giving him those opportunities.
"Decorian Patterson has been doing a great job this year," Ross said. "I think teams are scared to throw it his way, he's got four interceptions. It's kind of working out in my favor right now where they're scared of him, so they're coming towards me."
The flood lights over the practice field behind Floyd Stadium have shut off half of their lights, as the managers' gator rolls off the field with the last of the equipment. The sounds of the tech crew for that week's concert in the Murphy Center is about the only other sound on that side of campus.
"Had to catch up on what I missed at the start of practice," Ross explains. Why was he late? Class? Ross confirms. Most practice days, he wants to be ready to go for the 4 p.m. practice by around 3:10 p.m. On Wednesdays? Ross doesn't get out of class until 3:45 p.m., so he spends some extra time with cornerbacks coach Kenneth Gilstrap at the end to make sure he's ready for the weekend.
Ross has spent a lot of extra time over his five seasons in Murfreesboro, in the weight room, the training room, the meeting room, the film room, on the practice field and, for a brief time, in the outfield on Reese Smith Jr. Field. You have to when you play two positions for your football team, as well as walk-on to the baseball team on top of that.
"He's a mature guy and he knows how to work like a professional," defensive coordinator Scott Shafer says of Ross. "That's where it all starts."
Recruited to MTSU as a two-sport athlete out of Jones County High School in Gray, Ga., Ross eventually gave up roaming the outfield for the Blue Raiders to focus on the sport that got him to Murfreesboro, where his work ethic and intelligence has made him a key piece of the Blue Raiders' secondary the past two seasons, one that Shafer can play at both safety and at cornerback.
"I love being a defensive back," Ross said. "There's just something about it that makes me excited to come out here and work. When I come out here, I don't really look at it as practice, it's fun to me."
Through eight games in 2022, Ross is tied for the team lead in pass breakups with Decorian Patterson, while also leading the team in total tackles. The latter stat is not unusual for a safety, where Ross started the Blue Raiders' first six games of the season, but it's pretty unusual for a cornerback, where Ross has played his last two games, helping revitalize a unit that needed a spark in the middle of C-USA play.
Ross and his teammates held the UTEP Miners to just 191 yards through the air last week in MTSU's 24-13 win in El Paso, a game directly after holding WKU's air raid attack under 300 yards through the air in Floyd Stadium.
Those two games came after MTSU gave up over 400 yards in the air to UTSA, as well as passing plays of 68, 46 and 45 yards to UAB the week after. Ross' play at cornerback opposite Patterson, as well as Jakobe Thomas' play at safety in place of Ross, has been a big reason for the improvement.
"It was one of those deals where it was like, 'Ok, we need him to play outside a little bit,'" Shafer said of the change. "I've always believed in that, if you have somebody that can do both. And he's done a nice job working at understanding the defense. He's always been ready to roll at each position."
It helps, of course, that Ross was such a success at corner last season for the Blue Raiders, starting nine of the 12 games he played in after playing mostly nickel in 2020, his first season with extended playing time thanks to a redshirt year and a 2019 filled with hamstring injuries.
Shafer says Ross' skillset to play both positions starts with above the neck, with his learning ability, always being willing to take in more knowledge from the coaching staff, and even impart that knowledge onto his teammates. But the physical traits, his speed, his strength for a defensive back, help him excel at both.
Ross agrees with that assessment but acknowledges there's a lot of nuanced differences between the two secondary roles fans might miss on game day, things he has to adjust to with the switch.
"At safety, you're having to come down and be a lot more physical," Ross said. "At corner, it's more of a space game, you're in man-to-man coverage. You're having to go deep. Safety, you're mostly staying in the box, at cornerback, your guy might be running a post, dig, anything across the field and you've got to come back the next play and line up again."
Ross says he likes to play a lot of press coverage on the outside when he can, with so many collegiate receivers and quarterbacks relying on timing routes to move the ball these days. But he credits most of his unit's success to their communication.
"Coming from safety, I kind of know where the safety is going to be, I know where my help is," Ross said. "Decorian is a veteran guy who's been in the defense for the while, so he has veteran eyes back there and can call stuff out. Tra (Fluellen), me and him talked a lot as a safety duo, so me and him kept that same communication. Jakobe, he's a good young player coming, wants to learn a lot, keeps his nose in the book."
As for his own success? A little bit of his technique, sure. But his opposite corner is the one giving him those opportunities.
"Decorian Patterson has been doing a great job this year," Ross said. "I think teams are scared to throw it his way, he's got four interceptions. It's kind of working out in my favor right now where they're scared of him, so they're coming towards me."
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