By Joe Scalzo
scalzo@vindy.com
After going undrafted in April and waiting three months for the NFL lockout to end, YSU’s Brandian Ross entered free agency as a relatively unknown FCS cornerback just looking for a chance.
With that in mind, signing with the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers might seem like an odd choice.
Not to Ross.
“The Packers have a history of taking practice squad players,” said Ross, pointing to undrafted cornerback Tramon Williams, who went to the Pro Bowl last season. “It was all about me preparing myself for the future.”
Ross, a second-team all-conference pick last fall, opened eyes in the Packers’ family scrimmage in early August, intercepting Aaron Rodgers’ first pass and returning it for a touchdown. Despite missing almost a week’s worth of practices with an injured hamstring, he continued to impress the coaching staff over the next few weeks, eventually signing with the team’s practice squad after being cut on Saturday.
“Making that play so early helped a lot,” said Ross, who is from Richmond, Va. “It showed that even though I was only there for a week, I was capable of making big plays.
“It was my focus every practice, every scrimmage, every preseason game to try to make an impact play.”
Ross played both safety and cornerback in college and gained a reputation as a coach on the field. His football smarts allowed him to quickly pick up the Packers’ defensive system as he adjusted to the increased size and speed of NFL players.
“Mentally, it wasn’t that hard,” he said. “I got the basics of the defense down fairly quick. Physically, it was challenging.
“They’ve got an MVP quarterback and I was going against great receivers every day in practice and they work you.”
Under normal circumstances, undrafted free agents have an extremely difficult path to the NFL. From 2006-10, an average of 41 undrafted free agents have been on opening day rosters, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
One of those was former YSU wide receiver Donald Jones, who made the Buffalo Bills as a UFA in 2010 and is the only ex-Penguin in the NFL. (Former Penguin wide receiver Dominique Barnes signed with the Detroit Lions this summer as an undrafted free agent but was cut on Saturday.)
Those earlier UFAs all had an advantage over this year’s free agents since they were able to sign with teams immediately after the draft and attend minicamps. The lockout prevented this year’s free agents from signing with teams until July 25.
“I was just excited to be able to keep playing, because a lot of guys didn’t have that opportunity,” Ross said.
Practice squad players practice with the team during the week and can be called up to the active roster at any time. They can also be signed by another team at any point, although that team must then place the player on its active roster. NFL teams can keep up to eight players on the practice squad in addition to the 53-man roster.
Ross (whose first name is pronounced “Brandon”) said he’s enjoyed his time in Green Bay — “Being a player, you’re pretty easy to spot up here,” he said — and spends all his time lifting, practicing, eating or playing Madden 2012.
“I don’t have to worry about school,” he said.
Ross is just hoping to make a name for himself in the NFL, even if most people will still mispronounce it.
“The Packers told me to just keep working hard and everything will take care of itself,” said Ross. “This is a great, great organization with a great coaching staff, great players and the best secondary in the league.
“Not too many rookies are going to be playing this year so there’s time to still learn, so that when it’s my turn, I’ll be ready and prepared to play.”
