St. Pete safety also a blue-chip gem

The blue-chip prospects in the Class of 2002 at St. Petersburg (Fla.) Catholic isn’t limited to just Chris Davis. That’s because safety Mike Ross has plenty of things that make him a gem in the eye’s of the college coaches.

Ross is 6-foot and 180 pounds. He’s been clocked at 4.46-seconds in the 40-yard dash and has a 305-pound bench-press. What he also has is an ability to always be near the ball and make big play after big play.

“To tell you the truth, I love to hit people,” Ross said. “I can rush the quarterback. I can drop back and cover the tight ends, running backs and receiver. I can do a little bit of everything. I’m a very versatile player.”

So you see, Catholic isn’t just a one-man team. It’s far from it because Ross has some impressive scholarship offers on the table from Virginia Tech, Purdue, USC, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt. He has oral scholarship offers from Rutgers and Auburn, also.

“Right now, I don’t really have any favorites,” Ross said. “My family and I are going over a lot of things that I need to figure out before it’s time to pick. I want to get the best education (2.7 grade-point average and a 960 on the SAT) that I can get. I know football won’t always be there – even if I’m lucky enough to make it to the pros.

“I want to major in sports medicine or maybe journalism. My family wants me to go where I feel most comfortable.”

And at this point that’s a place that he hasn’t found yet.

“I’m going to take my time and enjoy this,” Ross said. “I like the coaches, and I like the way they talk to you. They make you feel like the king of the world.”