Michigan Wolverines Football: Josh Ross Hasn't Seen A Michigan Team 'Come Together' Like This One

Wolverine redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross, who missed most of the 2019 campaign with an injury, is back, healthy and ready to go in a season that, at one point, looked like it would never come.

"It's time to go," Ross said Monday. "We’ve been going for so long, and there’s been so much anticipation for this week. We’ve had times where we started camp, then camp ended and we didn’t know if we were ever going to have a season in 2020.

"We’re blessed to have the opportunity to go out there and play again Oct. 24. There’s been so much anticipation and … just take every day how it is, take advantage of every day and practice as hard as you can, because at any moment, it can be taken away. That’s the approach I’ve been going into."

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The excitement is about more than just the opportunity to play. Ross said he's never been around a tighter group of guys. The Wolverines, led by head coach Jim Harbaugh, appear to have a strong culture.

"Coach Harbaugh’s a very passionate guy, very motivated guy, and he rallies all of us together as one," Ross said. "I love that guy and I’m glad he’s my head coach."

Ross said perhaps one of the reasons why the squad is banded together in such a way is due to the unique and unprecedented challenges that the year 2020 has brought for college athletes.

"It’s crazy now, I’m a senior. I’m an old head," Ross said. "I’m an old man in the program. But our team has faced so much adversity, unlike ever before in the past. And the way we’ve rallied together and came together, even in these hard times, maintaining positive thoughts and practicing hard and working together, the sky’s the limit for this team. And I’ve never seen any team I’ve been a part of here come together as much as we have."

The Maize and Blue also believe they have talent. Ross, who made 18 tackles in four appearances last season before the injury, revealed just how optimistic he is about the defensive unit, specifically in its ability to play a physical brand of football.

"The defense is physical all around, in my opinion," Ross said. "You’ve got guys like [junior defensive end] Aidan Hutchinson, [senior end] Kwity Paye, [fifth-year senior defensive tackle] Carlo Kemp, myself, [redshirt sophomore linebacker] Cam McGrone, all guys that are tenacious, all guys that are going to come and get you ... just know we’re all coming to get it, and we’re all going to smack somebody every play."

A big question mark on the defensive side of the ball has been how U-M will replace senior cornerback Ambry Thomas, who opted out and declared for the NFL Draft. The departure has slid redshirt sophomore Vincent Gray into the No. 1 corner role.

"Coming into this year, we had a lot of questions about who our second guy [at cornerback] was going to be, especially with Ambry leaving," Ross said. "But [senior safety] Brad Hawkins, [sophomore safety] Dax[ton Hill], Vince, [redshirt sophomore corner] Gemon Green, too, those guys have been playing really, really well, and they’re going to show everybody what they’re capable of.

"One guy that’s standing out to me — he’s got a big year ahead of him, it’s going to be a big year — and it’s Vince Gray. He’s been doing everything the right way, covering so well. I’m just so excited to see him take on this challenge against Minnesota and the great receiver that they have. It’s going to be a big game and a big deal."

Defensive coordinator Don Brown has not only shared similar sentiments about his defense, but he's lauded redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton, too, and so have several defensive players, including Ross.

"Explosive," Ross said, giving his impression of the offense while being led by Milton. "Joe’s one of my good friends, and just to see him thrive and flourish, it’s been amazing. He’s been practicing really, really well and I can’t wait to see him ball. Our offense is elite."

NOTES

• There's a lot riding on each and every COVID-19 test that U-M's team takes. The Wolverines, as well as each Big Ten team, are being tested daily. If they do test positive for the novel virus, they miss 21 days of team activities, including practices and games, making it a pressure-filled 15 minutes while waiting for results.

"Now, it’s kind of second nature at this point," Ross said of the daily testing. "But we test every day in the morning. We come in, we get our test, we do the swab up the nose and we get our results back in around 15 minutes.

"I would say it’s second nature now, but just thinking about it, it’s definitely kind of nerve-wracking a little bit, because when we test the day before a game, somebody can get a false positive. And who knows how that’s going to happen? There's nothing they can do when we test the day before and day of, with somebody that has a false positive. So that’s kind of nerve-wracking a little bit."

• A pleasant surprise of the preseason has been the play of true freshman linebacker Kalel Mullings, a four-star, Rivals100 prospect coming out of high school. Mullings has received praise from coaches and players alike, and has been mentioned as one in the two-deep of the depth chart heading into the season.

"One of the first things that came across to me about Kalel is just the way he approaches the game, how much he loves the game and how smart he is as a player, and how much he’s willing to come in and put in extra work, every single day," Ross said. "Kalel’s one of the guys who has the size, has the athleticism and he’s super fast. And he’s been doing really well in practices, and he’s a freshman, he’s going to make mistakes and he’s still learning, but the sky’s the limit for that guy."

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