South Carolina kicked off what could be a historic week in Gamecock Nation Sunday night with a commitment from Columbia (S.C.) Hammond School

Hammond (SC) linebacker Jackson Ross during his South Carolina visit. Photo courtesy of Jackson Ross on Instagram

GamecockCentral Football Recruiting

GamecockCentral

Inside the commitment: Intel on South Carolina LB commit Jackson Ross

New South Carolina Football commit Jackson Ross (Columbia, S.C./Hammond) has plenty of traits that one would look for in a high-level prospect at

south carolina gamecocks recruiting target jackson ross

New South Carolina Football linebacker commit Jackson Ross (Columbia, S.C./Hammond) has plenty of traits that one would look for in a high-level prospect at his position.

Why It Matters

The Gamecocks need to continue to sign talented linebackers. The room right now has as much raw talent as it has had in some time overall, but starters Fred Johnson, Shawn Murphy and Justin Okoronkwo are all NFL Draft eligible after this season.

Zoom In

Ross does so much on film that is instinctive. He’s diving for interceptions because he is alert enough to know where the pass is going. On that note, he is coming out of nowhere for a pick on a poorly-thrown out route. His get off at the line of scrimmage in pass rushing situations looks legit with the caveat that the competition level is not the best in SCISA. On that note, Ross tested quite well at a 6-foot-2.5, 220-pounds on the combine and camp circuit and when you have a prospect that has impressive film against not the best competition, those numbers are important. Athletically, he checks the boxes. Ross also looks like a linebacker that loves to play football. You hear coaches ask that all the time “does he love football?”… some have all the talent in the world but don’t “love football” and never reach their potential. I have never seen a great linebacker that had those questions. It is mental in many ways when players go up a level, so it’s impossible to predict with 100 percent accuracy, but Ross plays the game like he loves football.

Zoom Out

Ross is the second commit from the Midlands in the last week. Offensive lineman Jason Ross (no relation) of Ridge View pledged to Carolina last Tuesday. Ross follows previous Gamecocks defensive linemen Jordan Burch (transferred to Oregon after the 2022 season) and Alex Huntley (in the NFL) and current Carolina tight end Mike Tyler (currently projected to see increased snaps in this season, his second) as recruits to the Gamecocks from Hammond in recent cycles.

By The Numbers

-Ross is commitment No. 13 in South Carolina’s 2027 recruiting class and the second in-state prospect.

-The Rivals Industry ranking on Ross of 85.33 is a bit misleading. Rivals rates him as an 87 while 247Sports has him as 89. ESPN has yet to rate him so it is dragging down his rating at the moment.

-Ross runs the 40-yard dash in the 4.5-4.6-second range and also has tested well in the vertical (explosiveness measure) and broad jump.

-He is the only linebacker in the 2027 class.

The Legacy

Of course, Ross is the son of former Gamecock men’s basketball guard David Ross, who played for Eddie Fogler from 1997-2001 and was part of an NCAA Tournament and NIT team. He now is a local attorney in Columbia.

Bottom Line
If Jackson Ross were playing at the SCHSL level, he would probably get consideration to be a top 300 recruit in the country. The film is that good, but analysts are going to measure the competition level as they should. What shows up on film and in the testing, though, that is not relevant to high school level of competition is the twitchiness, the explosiveness, the instincts, the lateral ability and the overall athleticism (he’s an excellent basketball player, too). Ross is a great athlete but is also a very good football player. It’s the opinion here that like the other Hammond recruits before him, there will be a bit of an adjustment period, but it would not be a surprise whatsoever to see him on the field in Year 1 and in the two deep. 

He is a fantastic pick-up for South Carolina at linebacker.


TheBigSpur Football Recruiting

TheBigSpur

New Gamecocks commit Jackson Ross has everything you'd want at linebacker

Class of 2027 Columbia (SC) Hammond School standout Jackson Ross has committed to South Carolina. On Sunday, Ross revealed his public pledge to the

South Carolina lands commitment from local standout, Gamecock legacy

Texas Tech's 2027 class - currently ranked 5th in the country per the Rivals Team Recruiting Rankings - is nearing its conclusion.   On Saturday

Jackson Ross (@jacksonross00/IG)

Red Raider Sports Football Recruiting

Red Raider Sports

What's left for Texas Tech in 2027?

South Carolina linebacker target Jackson Ross has taken his three official visits, and now it's almost decision time.  The Columbia (S.C.) Hammond

Hammond LB Jackson Ross sets decision date, talks final three

player headshot

South Carolina

Football

team image

Hammond School

Jackson Ross

Organization Logo

South Carolina Gamecocks

Linebacker

Recruiting Board

Rivals

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

News Feed

Database

Team Rankings

Player Rankings

Industry Comparison

Commitments

Recruiting Prediction Machine

Football Recruiting

Basketball Recruiting

High School News

Schools

Rankings

Scores

High School

Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal

Transfer Portal Rankings

Transfer Portal Team Rankings

Transfer Portal

NIL News

NIL Valuation

NIL Deals

About

On3 App

Advertise

Press

Contact

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Test

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

The Main Board

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Girls Flag Football

Annual

Annual Premium

All-Access

Monthly

Monthly Premium

National $1

National

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

All access to the On3 College Sports and Rivals Recruiting Networks.

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro(National)

Join (National)

Inside scoop, experts, and community all in one.

Special Offer: On3 | Rivals National Membership

Winback

JacksonRoss

JacksonRoss

All Teams