Tennessee football punter Jackson Ross wasn’t very busy in his game against Florida on Saturday. With the Vols winning 31-11 and scoring on most of their drives, he was only tasked with punting twice in The Swamp. He made the most of those opportunities, though, resulting in winning SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. He shares the award with Oklahoma punter Grayson Miller.
Ross’ punts went for a total of 90 yards, but it was his pinpoint accuracy that got him the accolade. He pinned the Gators deep in their own territory on both, with one being downed at the one-yard line and the other at the six. Florida missed a field goal on one of the ensuing drives and made one on the other.
Ross is a Ray Guy Award finalist in his redshirt-junior year. He leads the nation in percentage of punts downed inside the 20-yard line this season with 19 of his 33 doing so (57.6%).
He took over as the punter in 2023, gaining notoriety for the ability to punt with both legs. Ross is a rugby-style punter, typically letting the coverage unit get downfield before letting it rip. However, he’s capable of a more traditional style, as well.
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Tennessee wasted no time jumping on Florida this year. The Vols conducted a beautiful opening drive after receiving the kickoff, capped off by an Ethan Davis touchdown on an Aguilar throw to the flat.
The following drive, Bishop went over the top from one yard out. He would do the same on the following possession, as well, marking his second score of the game and putting Tennessee up 21-0 early.
Despite staring down a third-and-long, Thomas bounced a run for 52 yards to get down to the one-yard line on the fourth drive. He punched it in himself on the next play to stun Florida with a 28-0 lead just minutes into the second quarter.
Florida had a chance to score afterward, but missed a kick to give Tennessee the ball back. With moments left in the first half, Josh Heupel opted to run the ball twice and kick a field goal from inside the red zone heading into the break. Max Gilbert hit the kick to give the Vols a 31-0 edge at the end of the half.
The Gators ended up scoring thanks to a field goal in the third quarter to extend their streak of not being shut out to 472 games. That is an NCAA record.
Florida would score a fourth-quarter touchdown, as well on a strike from DJ Lagway to Jadan Baugh. Tennessee would drive deep into Gators territory on the ensuing drive before letting time expire.
