When you think about crazy recruiting film, your first thought is probably a running back breaking a tackle before being off to the races, a wide receiver flying down the field before coming down with a jump ball or a quarterback with pinpoint accuracy on a deep ball. For Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel, the ‘craziest film’ he’s ever watched was of a punter.
Ultimately, Heupel landed this punter. Now, Jackson Ross, who put up the ridiculous tape, is entering his third year as the Vols’ starting punter. In the opening 45-26 win over Syracuse, Ross got the chance to punt four times. He pinned three inside the 20 and hit one for a long of 56 yards.
On Thursday, during an appearance on The Mike Keith Show, Heupel discussed his punter. That’s when he revealed how insane he thought Ross’ film was.
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Heupel: “It’s the craziest film that I’ve ever watched. It was live – his ability, he was hitting bombs in the pocket. Then, they had him rugby right. They were essentially having guys run like a post pattern at 50 yards and he was able to hit the guys in stride.”
Keith: “With a kick?”
Heupel: “Yeah, with a kick. Then, at the very end, they flipped it over and he went left-footed. I’ve never seen anything like that. Super talented.
Keith: “Have you ever had an Australian punter before?”
Heupel: “Had not. Nope. First one.”
Keith: “As a traditional football guy, was it hard for you to get used to?”
Heupel: “Absolutely not. It’s like a golfer being able to hit every club that he’s got in his bag. He’s a real utility knife and gives us a ton of versatility in what we do.”
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Heupel also noted the presence of Ross in the locker room. Sometimes, specialists can slip into their own corner and not interact much with the rest of the team. That’s seemingly not the case with Ross.
Ahead of the opener in Atlanta, Ross made his rounds and was seen having a quick pregame and postgame chat with starting quarterback Joey Aguilar.
“Jackson is a character,” Heupel said. “Infectious energy guy inside of our building. Has a lot of fun, but highly competitive, as well. Really skilled off the field, too. Anything that he does, he’s super talented in.”
Ross’ second test of the season may not see him on the field much. The Vols will host FCS, in-state foe ETSU on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on SECN+/ESPN+. With the presumed talent gap, Tennessee may not be in a lot of punting situations.
