Tennessee punter Jackson Ross was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team on Thursday afternoon. Ross was the only Volunteer to land on the All-Freshman.
🏈 2023 All-#SECFB: Freshman Team
🔗 https://t.co/Tx4x8t03v1 pic.twitter.com/mIGkyyyCBe
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) December 7, 2023
In 12 games, Ross punted for 2,053 yards on 48 punt attempts (42.8 YPP) despite struggling badly in the Vols’ first two games of the season. Ross’ 42.8 yards per punt ranked sixth in the SEC and third nationally amongst freshman punters.
The Melbourne, Australia native’s rugby punting style also allowed Tennessee to limit punt returns at an extremely high rate. The Vols rarely allowed any punt return yards and didn’t allow any long returns all season.
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Ross came up big in a number of games for Tennessee last season including against Texas A&M when Dee Williams down a Ross’ punt at the Aggies one-yard line. Four plays later, Williams returned a Texas A&M punt for a touchdown which gave Tennessee a lead it never relinquished.
Tennessee downed 18 of Ross’ 48 punts inside the 20-yard line during his redshirt freshman season.
In Tennessee’s loss at Alabama, Ross punted five times for 266 yards including a career-best 71-yard punt. The 53 yards per punt set a new single-game program record with a minimum of five punts.
The Vols had three players land on the two All-SEC teams earlier this week: defensive end James Pearce Jr, running back Jaylen Wright and center Cooper Mays.
