Kansas State University Athletics
‘I Was Ready to Come Home’
Jan 24, 2025 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Understand this was Nick Saban sitting across from him. Understand Saban was here at Liberty North High School in Kansas City, Missouri, about a 20-minute drive from Arrowhead Stadium. Yes, the Nick Saban. And he had some words for Jayshawn Ross on December 5, 2023: "You're a great pass rusher and can get the job done if you're willing to commit to me and the program."
Ross was the 18th-rated edge rusher and sixth-rated prospect in Missouri in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports. He recorded 23 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, eight sacks and forced a fumble in 10 games his senior season, according to MaxPreps. He also had 12 catches for 254 yards and four touchdowns. He had 25 scholarship offers, according to 247Sports, which listed his official visits to Alabama, Nebraska and Kansas State.
"I was bright-eyed and all that good stuff seeing Coach Saban," Ross says. "I had seen him develop some guys and send some guys to the next level. I was ready to be that next guy."
Today, 6-foot-3, 228-pound Ross wears a black Kansas State hoodie, purple sweatpants, and is toting a K-State backpack, as he takes a seat in the press box at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. He stares at the snow-blanketed football field from high above, imagining the electricity when 50,000 pack the stadium. Today, he runs a 4.58 40, bench presses 475 pounds, and squats 640 pounds.
Time will tell. But he could be that next guy at K-State.
K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman says: "The makings are there for him to be something truly special.
Saban left Alabama. Consequently, Ross entered the transfer portal.
"I was just ready to come back home," says Ross, who plans for 10-15 family members to attend home football games in Manhattan. "I realized that I was still a priority here on January 4. Yeah, January 4 it was. I was ready. I was ready to come home. That's when I contacted Coach Buddy Wyatt and I shut down my recruiting. I knew I was home. I knew it was time to get to work."
Ross played three snaps in the Crimson Tide's 52-7 win over Mercer on November 16 ("Greatest three snaps, fastest three snaps of my life. Everything moved so fast. Definitely a dream come true for sure," he says), but those were the only three snaps he saw the entire season. Interestingly, Ross points to his right thumb when discussing the biggest highlight of his freshman season in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Ross broke his right thumb a few months prior to the season, and he spent his time recovering from surgery honing in on improvement ("I took mental notes and did all the mental repetitions that I could, he says) while also thinking deeply about his future.
"The injury allowed me to realize we only get one opportunity at this," Ross says. "I definitely needed to follow my heart. The coaching staff (at Alabama) that recruited me was gone. I had to make a choice to better myself with the remaining time I had there and develop myself enough to come here and maximize my potential."
Wyatt saw more than enough when Ross attended a K-State summer camp. The K-State defensive ends coach offered Ross a scholarship on July 28, 2021.
"Coach Wyatt said, 'Hey, some of the drills you did just didn't look so well, but I see your athleticism, I see your determination to work, and that's what we're looking for here. We're looking for good people who are ready to work,'" Ross says. "Hearing that, it was obviously my first offer, and that put them at the top of my list. It made me feel like the guy."
And now, here he is, three years later, making the most of his opportunity in the Little Apple. Today, he awakened at 7:30 a.m., ate breakfast with the team at 8:30 a.m., attended team meetings, ate lunch, and went to class as a business major at the College of Business. On Wednesday, he met Avery Johnson for the first time ("Cool guy, he's just all laughs and smiles, and I can't wait to get on the field with him because he's got some good energy I can feed off of," Ross says), and he met Dylan Edwards ("He's fast, electric, he's going to be, yeah, oh my, I'm sure you've already seen it this year — he's crazy," Ross says), while reconnecting with running back JB Price, a friend from Overland Park, Kansas, who attended Blue Valley High School.
As for the position Ross will play on the field — will he be an edge rusher, a linebacker?
"I think the classification would be outside linebacker," he replies. "I'm looking to do a little dropping back and catching a few interceptions. You'll see me getting after the quarterback a lot — 80%."
Ross was first introduced to being a hybrid linebacker/defensive end prior to the final game of his senior season. Sports Illustrated reported that Ross had five tackles, three quarterback hits, two sacks and a blocked punt in a 38-7 win over Christian Brothers in the Missouri Class 6 state title game.
"Coach drew up some fancy defense, more of a 3-3-5, and I was that hybrid linebacker," Ross says. "Yeah, I just loved it. That whole game, I felt free, I felt like I was in space, and I felt like I was able to affect the game."
Even prior to the state title game, Ross left quite an impression on FBS teams across the country, including the likes of Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Florida State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, Arkansas, Illinois, South Carolina, Missouri, Notre Dame, USC, Penn State, Iowa, Iowa State and Kansas.
"We obviously recruited him hard, especially as he got into his senior year, and we realized that he was coming into his own a little bit and maturing. We fell more and more in love with him, as did everybody else in the country," Klanderman says. "Coach Wyatt did a great job establishing a relationship with him. Ultimately, he chose to go to Alabama to play for Nick Saban, which I can't fault him for that. But when he came into the portal and had some interest in K-State, it was an absolute no-brainer for us. He's going to be such a valuable piece not only athletically, but her personality is so bubbly, his energy infectious, and I think he'll bring a lot of energy and juice every day as well.
"We were going to do whatever we could do to get him in the program because there are a lot of ways he can help us. Even though it's a position where we're pretty solid, sometimes somebody comes along who's too good to pass up on. He certainly fits that."
Although Ross was a standout high school football player and grew up less than an hour from home to the best football team in the NFL, he must admit: "I'm not really a football guy."
However, Ross has digested film of Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
"I see power, like a crazy amount of power," Ross says. "I see a lot of mental focus in his hand movements and footsteps. As far as his game and what I can take from it, it's about just being poised and very fundamentally active, and really wanting to perfect the little things and little details."
What might K-State fans see from Ross next fall?
"You might not see much coming off the edge, but you'll see the quarterback on the ground a lot, 80% of the time, and I'll get a few picks," he replies. "Rushing the passer 80% of the time, we'll force 13 interceptions. I'll have a lot of guys around me to help me do that."
Favorite move?
"Spin move," he says. "I love the spin. Outside. The back end. Double-spin move. I might try that this year, too."
Ross grins.
"It'll be crazy."
It'll certainly delight 50,000 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
With that, Ross picks up his K-State backpack.
Time to get to work.
Ross peers out the press box window at the football field one last time.
He smiles big.
After a journey, it feels good to be home.
Understand this was Nick Saban sitting across from him. Understand Saban was here at Liberty North High School in Kansas City, Missouri, about a 20-minute drive from Arrowhead Stadium. Yes, the Nick Saban. And he had some words for Jayshawn Ross on December 5, 2023: "You're a great pass rusher and can get the job done if you're willing to commit to me and the program."
Ross was the 18th-rated edge rusher and sixth-rated prospect in Missouri in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports. He recorded 23 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, eight sacks and forced a fumble in 10 games his senior season, according to MaxPreps. He also had 12 catches for 254 yards and four touchdowns. He had 25 scholarship offers, according to 247Sports, which listed his official visits to Alabama, Nebraska and Kansas State.
"I was bright-eyed and all that good stuff seeing Coach Saban," Ross says. "I had seen him develop some guys and send some guys to the next level. I was ready to be that next guy."
Today, 6-foot-3, 228-pound Ross wears a black Kansas State hoodie, purple sweatpants, and is toting a K-State backpack, as he takes a seat in the press box at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. He stares at the snow-blanketed football field from high above, imagining the electricity when 50,000 pack the stadium. Today, he runs a 4.58 40, bench presses 475 pounds, and squats 640 pounds.
Time will tell. But he could be that next guy at K-State.
K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman says: "The makings are there for him to be something truly special.
Saban left Alabama. Consequently, Ross entered the transfer portal.
"I was just ready to come back home," says Ross, who plans for 10-15 family members to attend home football games in Manhattan. "I realized that I was still a priority here on January 4. Yeah, January 4 it was. I was ready. I was ready to come home. That's when I contacted Coach Buddy Wyatt and I shut down my recruiting. I knew I was home. I knew it was time to get to work."
Ross played three snaps in the Crimson Tide's 52-7 win over Mercer on November 16 ("Greatest three snaps, fastest three snaps of my life. Everything moved so fast. Definitely a dream come true for sure," he says), but those were the only three snaps he saw the entire season. Interestingly, Ross points to his right thumb when discussing the biggest highlight of his freshman season in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Ross broke his right thumb a few months prior to the season, and he spent his time recovering from surgery honing in on improvement ("I took mental notes and did all the mental repetitions that I could, he says) while also thinking deeply about his future.
"The injury allowed me to realize we only get one opportunity at this," Ross says. "I definitely needed to follow my heart. The coaching staff (at Alabama) that recruited me was gone. I had to make a choice to better myself with the remaining time I had there and develop myself enough to come here and maximize my potential."
Wyatt saw more than enough when Ross attended a K-State summer camp. The K-State defensive ends coach offered Ross a scholarship on July 28, 2021.
"Coach Wyatt said, 'Hey, some of the drills you did just didn't look so well, but I see your athleticism, I see your determination to work, and that's what we're looking for here. We're looking for good people who are ready to work,'" Ross says. "Hearing that, it was obviously my first offer, and that put them at the top of my list. It made me feel like the guy."
And now, here he is, three years later, making the most of his opportunity in the Little Apple. Today, he awakened at 7:30 a.m., ate breakfast with the team at 8:30 a.m., attended team meetings, ate lunch, and went to class as a business major at the College of Business. On Wednesday, he met Avery Johnson for the first time ("Cool guy, he's just all laughs and smiles, and I can't wait to get on the field with him because he's got some good energy I can feed off of," Ross says), and he met Dylan Edwards ("He's fast, electric, he's going to be, yeah, oh my, I'm sure you've already seen it this year — he's crazy," Ross says), while reconnecting with running back JB Price, a friend from Overland Park, Kansas, who attended Blue Valley High School.
As for the position Ross will play on the field — will he be an edge rusher, a linebacker?
"I think the classification would be outside linebacker," he replies. "I'm looking to do a little dropping back and catching a few interceptions. You'll see me getting after the quarterback a lot — 80%."
Ross was first introduced to being a hybrid linebacker/defensive end prior to the final game of his senior season. Sports Illustrated reported that Ross had five tackles, three quarterback hits, two sacks and a blocked punt in a 38-7 win over Christian Brothers in the Missouri Class 6 state title game.
"Coach drew up some fancy defense, more of a 3-3-5, and I was that hybrid linebacker," Ross says. "Yeah, I just loved it. That whole game, I felt free, I felt like I was in space, and I felt like I was able to affect the game."
Even prior to the state title game, Ross left quite an impression on FBS teams across the country, including the likes of Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Florida State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, Arkansas, Illinois, South Carolina, Missouri, Notre Dame, USC, Penn State, Iowa, Iowa State and Kansas.
"We obviously recruited him hard, especially as he got into his senior year, and we realized that he was coming into his own a little bit and maturing. We fell more and more in love with him, as did everybody else in the country," Klanderman says. "Coach Wyatt did a great job establishing a relationship with him. Ultimately, he chose to go to Alabama to play for Nick Saban, which I can't fault him for that. But when he came into the portal and had some interest in K-State, it was an absolute no-brainer for us. He's going to be such a valuable piece not only athletically, but her personality is so bubbly, his energy infectious, and I think he'll bring a lot of energy and juice every day as well.
"We were going to do whatever we could do to get him in the program because there are a lot of ways he can help us. Even though it's a position where we're pretty solid, sometimes somebody comes along who's too good to pass up on. He certainly fits that."
Although Ross was a standout high school football player and grew up less than an hour from home to the best football team in the NFL, he must admit: "I'm not really a football guy."
However, Ross has digested film of Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
"I see power, like a crazy amount of power," Ross says. "I see a lot of mental focus in his hand movements and footsteps. As far as his game and what I can take from it, it's about just being poised and very fundamentally active, and really wanting to perfect the little things and little details."
What might K-State fans see from Ross next fall?
"You might not see much coming off the edge, but you'll see the quarterback on the ground a lot, 80% of the time, and I'll get a few picks," he replies. "Rushing the passer 80% of the time, we'll force 13 interceptions. I'll have a lot of guys around me to help me do that."
Favorite move?
"Spin move," he says. "I love the spin. Outside. The back end. Double-spin move. I might try that this year, too."
Ross grins.
"It'll be crazy."
It'll certainly delight 50,000 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
With that, Ross picks up his K-State backpack.
Time to get to work.
Ross peers out the press box window at the football field one last time.
He smiles big.
After a journey, it feels good to be home.
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