Tyrese Ross brings hard-hitting nature, with an NFL pedigree, to South Carolina
Tyrese Ross has seen the clip ad nauseum.
Asked by a reporter about a play in a 2019 game between Washington State and Houston, Ross’ memory refers back toward that day in Pullman, Washington.
Then in his freshman year at Washington State, Ross soared down the field on a kickoff, squared his shoulders and crunched Cougars kick returner Bryson Smith, giving off a sound closer to a car wreck than plastic pads crunching together.
“You can definitely say aggressiveness,” Ross said of how he would characterize his strengths. “But my game is more versatility — being able to be a vocal leader, play multiple positions and make sure our defense is on the same unit.”
Monday, Ross announced his decision to transfer from Washington State to South Carolina via Twitter. A hard-hitting safety by nature, he’ll bring a bruising but tempered presence to a Gamecock secondary in desperate need of playmakers.
Rated the No. 1,187 player and the No. 95 safety in the 2018 class, Ross held a slew of Group of Five offers along with opportunities at UCLA, Mississippi State, Kansas, Indiana, West Virginia and Virginia Tech. After initially committing to Mississippi State, he backed off that pledge.
Washington State then offered what no one else could — a chance to play for his dad’s old coach.
Before Dominique Ross was a member of the Super Bowl XXX champion Dallas Cowboys, he was a running back under Air Raid architects Mike Leach and Hal Mumme at Division II Valdosta State in southern Georgia.
At Valdosta, Dominique Ross was limited in his opportunities. Mumme and Leach threw the ball incessantly. Touches were few and far between. Dominique said he only had two plays — a dive and a draw. He took to each touch with a vengeance, not knowing when the next handoff might come.
Today, Dominique Sr. says he’s tried to instill this same trait in Tyrese and his brothers — Dominique, who just finished his playing career at North Carolina, and Tyson, a redshirt freshman receiver at Valdosta State.
“I had two plays, and I made it to the NFL off two plays,” Dominique Sr. said. “What it showed me was, take advantage of every opportunity, be accountable and limit your mistakes.”
In three years at Washington State, Tyrese notched 35 tackles, one tackle for a loss and a forced fumble over 17 games played, but missed three contests this past season due to undisclosed reasons.
Hoping to return closer to his mother in Tallahassee and his father in Atlanta, he entered the transfer portal Jan. 19.
During Tyrese’s initial recruiting process, his mother, Teresa Miller, and her sister always checked in with academic counselors and advisors to get a better feel for who would be responsible for helping Tyrese academically. The COVID-19 pandemic has limited that chance in Columbia, but conversations with head coach Shane Beamer sold not only Tyrese, but Teresa as well.
“When I talked to coach (Beamer) on Friday it was so exciting,” Teresa said. “I was just so excited to hear that everything was confirmed. We were ready to go to South Carolina immediately.”
With the ability to play both free and strong safety, Ross should have ample chances at playing time in 2021. The Gamecocks saw starting defensive backs Israel Mukuamu and Jaycee Horn taken in the NFL Draft last week. R.J. Roderick is back in the fold, but he left the spring game after an ankle injury and battled injuries for much of the 2020 season.
Teresa quips that it was never hard to find the Ross family at games during Tyrese’s and his brothers’ high school days. But distance and airplane fares north of $1,000 each made it difficult for either Teresa or Dominique, let alone extended family, to catch Tyrese’s games at Washington State.
Come Sept. 4 for South Carolina’s season opener against Eastern Illinois, though, Teresa says she and a slew of friends and family will don garnet and black when Tyrese runs through the smoke at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“That’s what I’m really excited about is to be back home, to be in the South,” Tyrese said. “It’s just a different smell being down South than playing West Coast ball in the Pac-12. I’m just definitely excited to be back down here.”
