TicketsSept. 19, 2005
by Allison Hoehn, Sports Communications Student Assistant
The University of Cincinnati football team has always thought of itself as a family. When one looks closer, however, there is a true bloodline running through this Bearcat squad that consists of brothers Derick and Dominic Ross. The Ross brothers, Derick, a senior wide receiver, and Dominic, a junior strong safety are two proven leaders on this year's crew who have worked their way into the starting line-up on both sides of the ball.
The Bearcats are in the midst of their inaugural season in the BIG EAST Conference. The team is a young squad and Dominic and Derick have both taken big leadership roles this season with age and experience under their belt. Derick, the only senior wide receiver, and Dominic, the silent leader, are leading a young team who lost 27 seniors from last season's team. Ten of those worked out in NFL camps this summer and six made final NFL rosters.
"A lot of guys look to me considering that I've been on the field before", says Derick. "We have a lot of young guys on the field this year so I just try to help everyone out."
"I took more of a leadership role by just leading by example," adds Dominic. "I really don't say too much out there. I'd rather go out there and show them how we should be practicing or how we should be playing; what the intensity level should be. Instead of saying it I really go out and do it."
This year's schedule holds seven BIG EAST opponents in a row for the Bearcats, the first being at Pittsburgh on October 8th. Playing on your opponent's home ground, as opposed to your own home turf, boasts a whole other atmosphere for the entire team. Dominic thrives on playing away with the thought that he is playing his hardest when everyone is against him. In contrast, Derick prefers the comforts of playing in your home stadium and is looking forward to playing the University of Connecticut on October 15th, which will mark the first football BIG EAST match up at UC.
Playing together on the same teams since little league, the Ross brothers have an unbreakable bond on and off the field. "It's kind of cool playing together," says Derick. "We have a lot of family that comes to the games. We have a big family and they are really proud of us so they all come out and watch us play," added Dominic.
Both Derick and Dominic had successful high school careers at Harding High in Marion, Ohio and knew early on that they wanted to continue their careers into the collegiate ranks. The Ross brothers were coached by Tim Hinton while at Marion Harding. Hinton currently coaches the running backs at UC. Dominic credits Hinton with guiding him in the right direction. "Coach Hinton took care of me and I was under his wing in high school."
Derick adds, "Coach Hinton is a good guy. He is more of a friend than he is a coach to us because whenever something is going on with our family or whatever, we can talk to him; he understands. It's cool to have him down here with us."
Hinton agrees and recognizes the special relationship that he shares with the Ross brothers and their family. "They are great young men. It's been a pleasure to watch them and their journey through their teenage years into adulthood. They are first class people who are hard working, dedicated, very loyal young men and they epitomize what you want a college athlete to be," he said.
Derick watched older members on the UC squad and knew what he had to do in order to achieve his goals. Dominic followed in his older brother's footsteps when he decided to come to UC and both overcame adversity in their early years; Derick having a redshirt year his freshman year and Dominic being a walk-on who then had to redshirt further on into the season.
The lessons that they learned from the players they looked up to, as well as the hard lessons they learned themselves, have led to this advice for the younger players on the squad.
"Just keep working," stated Dominic. "A lot of things happen during the season; some people get hurt, some people just lose focus, and don't play as well as they should be playing. Opportunity does come, so when it does, they have to be ready." Derick adds, "the thing I would like to teach the younger players is just to work hard. When we came in it wasn't a young senior class or a small senior class, as we have now, so a lot of them are forced to play. I just want them to be humble and take advantage of the opportunity that they are given right now and just continue to work hard."
As with every preseason, the Bearcats took their annual trip to Camp Higher Ground in Indiana this summer, where the team got a chance to bond and older members roomed with the newcomers. This is where the dynamic of the team first began taking shape and where getting to know your teammates off the field proved a valuable asset on the field. "Our continuity right now is still growing," says Derick. "We just continue to jell together".
That continuity is the basis of a winning season. UC has set high goals for itself and fully intends on meeting each one. Each of the Ross brothers has their own personal goals; Derick to win a BIG EAST Championship and Dominic to "dominate in the BIG EAST and go to and win a big bowl game." Both agree that beating Louisville and Miami (Ohio) are high on their charts and for Derick, this will be his last chance to play both of UC's rivals.
Derick graduated in the spring of 2005 and is currently pursuing his second degree. Upon the completion of his last season as a Bearcat, Derick plans on staying down in Cincinnati for another year to watch Dominic finish up his collegiate career and then plans to move closer to home. Dominic will graduate this spring with a degree in marketing and will work on a second to finish his football eligibility next season. After that he plans to see what his options are and would like to pursue playing football in the future.
The Ross brothers are two examples of how hard work can get a student-athlete where he or she wants to be. Both in their respective starting positions, the Ross brothers will continue to contribute to the Bearcat football team and work hard to make UC's inaugural season in the BIG EAST a successful one.
"Just always loving the game, that is what drives me," says Dominic. "We'll try to bring our A game every week," added Derick. "We are in the BIG EAST now and we'll bring it every day and every game."