Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Ross gets phone call of a lifetime
10/7/2005 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 7, 2005
By Tom Housenick
Daily Item Sports Editor
Senior Dante Ross got a call on a Sunday afternoon last month.
Bucknell offensive coordinator Tim Camp was on the other end of the line.
The Bison had just dropped their second game in a row to start this season and lost their second quarterback in as many games to an injury.
That left an untested sophomore with an ailing throwing shoulder and a freshman on the depth chart.
"I had a feeling the coaches were scheming something," Ross admitted.
However, Camp, a former Division I lineman, hit Ross with a proposition the starting defensive back and kick/punt returner didn't see coming.
Camp was giving Ross the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to play quarterback.
"I thought maybe slotback or wide receiver," Ross said. "I came here as a wide receiver and I always wanted to play offense. But I wasn't going to go and seek it out."
Three weeks later, Ross' name is in the Bucknell and Patriot League record books.
At just 5-foot-8, 164 pounds, Ross ran for 268 yards and three touchdowns during the Bison's first win of the season, 27-7, Saturday against Marist. He also threw a touchdown pass in a game that won't soon be forgotten.
It was a performance that almost didn't happen, one that started out as a semi-joking discussion among a couple of coaches after a depressing loss.
"We were on the bus ride back from Stony Brook and I was only half-serious talking with (assistant) Dick Cassells," Bucknell head coach Tim Landis recalled. "I said that maybe we should just go back to double tight ends with (current starting defensive ends) Brandon Bailey and Sean Conover and Dante at quarterback."
Landis was looking for suggestions the next day during the coaches' weekly meeting. A couple of other assistants came up with the proposal of having Ross play quarterback.
That was all Landis needed to hear.
"It's always nice when you throw a question out there and get the answer you want," Landis admitted.
Camp then called Ross, who didn't give an answer right away.
"Yeah, I was hesitant," the senior said.
But, who could pass up that offer?
Well, Ross was just being realistic. His only experience at quarterback prior to the Cornell game was this: Pee-wee league, when he threw the halfback option passes; and high school, when he practiced as a backup QB after the starter was hurt the previous week.
That's it. No game action. No lining up behind the center with a crowd in the stands.
"I'm sure I'm going to look back at this and think that not many other guys can say they had this opportunity," Ross said.
The kicker is that Ross is still returning kicks and punts and still playing cornerback, dogging a wide receiver on every play. The coaches aren't cruel, though. They did take him off kick and punt coverage teams so that he actually could catch his breath.
"They did say that the time might come where they needed me back in there," Ross said with exhaustion already in his voice.
Things, as expected, didn't go smoothly in Ross' first game at quarterback. He rushed for a modest 59 yards and was 0-for-3 passing with one interception in a 24-7 road loss to Cornell, but it served as a teaching tool for the fast learner.
The game of a lifetime against Marist followed after a bye week.
That extra week allowed the senior to work on his footwork, handoffs and read keys. It also gave him the chance to rest his tired muscles.
"I have to make sure I find time during a game and in practice to catch a break," Ross admitted. "It's hard."
Ross said he's learned a whole bunch from the two healthy quarterbacks and they've taken some tips from him, too. Landis and Ross have made sure that no egos have been severely damaged by converting the senior to quarterback for the short term.
And, Ross knows any snap he takes could be his last, thus ending a football player's dream.
"When I'm playing defense, I'm going all out on a play to try to stop the (opponent) so I can get my hands on the ball (on a punt return)," he said. "Now I get the ball in my hands on every (offensive) play. It's been great."
Sophomore Terrance Wilson's jaw still isn't right, so his return remains in question. Freshman second-teamer Mahdi Woodard is expected to play some Saturday against Ivy League power Penn, but concussions are a funny thing.
So, Ross is preparing for each game as if he is going both ways, sparking old-timers' memories of Gordie Lockbaum and Chuck Bednarik.
"In my heart, I always wanted to play offense," Ross said. "I thought that if I could back peddle and defend a pass, why couldn't I run a pass route and catch one?
"But this is quite an honor to be playing at this level in college and going both ways. I just hope I've done a good job."
The numbers don't lie, man.
And they'll be in the record books for the foreseeable future.
