97 days until Texas football: Kristopher Ross developing on the edge
Inside Texas is putting a new twist on long-time photographer Will Gallagher’s time-honored countdown to Texas football kickoff. In addition to Will’s great pictures, the Inside Texas staff will go through every player on the roster by jersey number and offer a season outlook for each, from five-star to walk-on.
[Get SIX MONTHS of Inside Texas Plus for only $29.99!]
In addition, we’ll look back at other greats to wear that day’s number, with special reverence to some of Texas’ best.
Today is 97 days until kickoff. No. 97 will be worn in 2023 by Kristopher Ross.
Kristopher Ross season outlook
Ross, a 6-foot-2, 246-pounder out of North Shore High School in Houston, was originally projected to be an interior defensive lineman at Texas. However, adding weight to Ross’ frame proved to be a difficult task as his 246-pound listing shows.
As a result, the defensive staff tried out Ross on the EDGE. He found a home at Buck, competing with Ethan Burke, J’Mond Tapp, and others.
Ross emerged from the spring as second on the depth chart behind Burke, and should see plenty of action at the position this year while acknowledging the competition at Buck in preseason camp will be one of the most heated.
Ross played in one game last year, making two tackles in the season-opener against ULM.
Kristopher Ross as a recruit
Ross was ranked as the No. 178 overall prospect, the No. 24 defensive line, and the No. 28 prospect in Texas according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He committed to Texas on July 3, 2022.
Most recent wearer of No. 97: Chris Nelson
Current Texas tight end Patrick Bayouth switched from No. 97 to No. 48 ahead of 2022. The most recent defensive lineman to wear No. 97 is Chris Nelson.
Nelson recorded 109 total tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks in his Texas career.
[Subscribe to the ON TEXAS FOOTBALL YouTube channel for daily videos from Inside Texas!]
Notable No. 97: Frank Okam
All-Americans to wear No. 97
DT Frank Okam, 2007
Joe Cook co-authored this article
