The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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The Big Ten's Top Sophomore Performers A number of freshmen made a splash in the Big Ten this past fall. Here's a look at how they rank as sophomores heading into the 2013 campaign: 1. Deion Barnes, DE, Penn State — Barnes broke through in a big way for the Nittany Lions last year, recording six sacks among his 26 tackles as a rookie. 2. Aaron Burbridge, WR, Michigan State — Burbridge proved a very productive rookie for the Spartans, making 29 catches for 364 yards and two touchdowns. He emerged as a bright spot in an offense lacking effectiveness. 3. Kyle Carter, TE, Penn State — Carter proved a go-to receiver for the Nittany Lions, pulling in 36 catches for 453 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Added strength in the offseason will make him even more of a threat. 4. Mason Monheim, LB, Illinois — Monheim notched 15 tackles, including a sack, in an Illini loss to Minnesota during the season. He wound up with 86 stops overall, including two sacks and an interception. 5. James Ross III, LB, Michigan — Ross posted a sack among his 36 tackles on the season, getting better and better as the year went along. His dozen tackles in the November showdown against Iowa spoke to his progress. 6. Joel Stave, QB, Wisconsin — Stave stepped in with some poise in his rookie season, completing a very solid 58.8 percent (70 of 119) of his passes as a rookie. He connected for 1,104 yards and six touchdowns for the Badgers. 7. Nick VanHoose, DB, Northwestern — VanHoose made his presence felt on the field as a freshman, picking off three passes during the 2012 campaign. He recorded 33 tackles for the Wildcats. 8. Devin Funchess, TE, Michigan — Funchess burst onto the scene in a big way as a hybrid tight end. He made 15 catches for 234 yards (15.6 average) and five touchdowns in his first fall on the field. 9. Adolphus Washington, DE, Ohio State — Washington's three sacks stand out among his otherwise muted freshman numbers (nine tackles). He's a force in the making. 10. Frankie Williams, DB, Purdue — Williams' two interceptions combined with 44 tackles got the rookie off and running in West Lafayette. — John Borton Corp., supervised both his son and Michigan linebacker Royce Jenkins-Stone in their formative football years. "We both played on the offensive line at the time," Ross recalled of his youth football Ross is not a typical linebacker at 6-1, 223, but he said of facing off with bigger foes, "I learned my size was somewhat of an extra benefit, me being smaller and quicker than those guys." Photo By lon horwedel experience under his dad. "He was the offensive line coach." The elder Ross also supplied the "Bigs" sobriquet, adapted from the music world. "It's a childhood nickname," Ross noted. "My dad gave it to me when I was a little baby. It stuck. It's kind of weird hearing 'James' rather than 'Bigs.' It came from the rapper Biggie Smalls at the time, and I was a fat baby." While dad supplied the football knowledge and the handle, his mom, Shantel Ross, delivered a different element of the total package. "My mom is a schoolteacher, so it was that same coaching, but on a different side," Ross explained. "She was the academics. My dad was the sports guy. It's a great balance. I'm very fortunate to have that throughout my life." The teacher also saw her athletics interest spike with the advent of her son in a Michigan uniform. "Actually, my mom was taking it too far," 144 ■ The Wolverine 2013 Football Preview Ross said with a laugh. "She started buying plane tickets, and she went to the Nebraska game. "My dad was like, 'This is important, but you might need to slow it down a little bit.' She was really loving it. "She started to really get into sports when I hit college. She always supported me in that way, but she really got into it. Now I catch her watching Michigan basketball games by herself, and she's really into it.'" His younger brother, 13-year-old Joshua Ross, is all "Michiganed out," in the best possible sense. "He steals all my clothes, wearing them around school and all of that stuff," Ross said. The sophomore admitted to looking at other schools in the recruiting process, but once he sat down with his parents to start narrowing the field, it was all about Michigan. He'd gone to see the Wolverines as a little kid and witnessed that time-honored leap to touch the M-Club banner.