Devonte Ross

Devonte (da-VON-tay) Ross, who has six siblings, grew up in Cartersville, Ga., with his mother (Burnetta Griffin) and father (Jimmy Ross). He played both ways as a wide receiver and cornerback at Cartersville High School and was named athlete of the year as a junior (53 catches for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns). As a senior in 2020, he helped lead the team to a state runner-up finish. A three-star recruit, Ross originally committed to Marshall during his senior season, but Kentucky swooped in with a late offer and flipped him on signing day. However, he never signed with the Wildcats and instead explored his options. He signed as part of Troy’s 2022 class, and his production increased each season. After surpassing 1,000 receiving yards as a junior, he entered the portal and transferred to Penn State for the 2025 season. He finished second on the team in receiving as a senior. An undersized athlete, Ross is both short and small, but he has speed to win vertically and short-area quickness to make the first man miss. He bursts off the ball with linear acceleration to get corners on their heels from the jump, although he has slight stiffness when attempting to snap routes. His downfield tracking can be hit or miss, and he doesn’t give quarterbacks a large catch radius. He does offer return experience, including a 77-yard punt return versus Iowa in 2024 (when he was at Troy). However, he needs to take better care of the ball — he had a high number of drops (21) and muffed punts (four) over his career. Overall, Ross is a small target with consistency issues, but his type of burst and speed never go out of style in the NFL. He offers inside-outside experience and can deliver positive reps as a return man.