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Lydell Ross' super skills were apparent very early

By MIKE READLING

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 11, 2000

TAMPA -- Melvin Ross knew long before anybody else that his son was going to be one of the best football players around.

He can remember sitting in the stands at Skyway Field with his wife, Francine, watching their youngest son warm up for his first Tampa Bay Youth Football League game.

Lydell was 8 years old, and he wore No. 14, a running back for the TBYFL Raiders.

The play that stands out to Melvin Ross is a quick pitch to the right. It was Lydell's first official carry, and he broke to the sideline. That's when the elder Ross saw what everyone in the state knows about today.

"As soon as he got to the sideline, he turned it upfield, just put on the afterburners and disappeared," said Melvin, a former running back at Indiana University. "The first time I saw him take a handoff and run, I knew he was going to turn out to be a star football player."

Lydell Ross has more than lived up to his father's early prediction. The Gaither senior used that first carry to kick-start a career that was highlighted Thursday by his breaking the Hillsborough County regular-season rushing record held by King's Fred Reid.

Entering Friday's regional quarterfinal, Ross has carried the ball 299 times for 2,150 yards and 22 touchdowns. Reid set the record last year with 2,083 yards. Those are numbers that have been dancing in Ross' head for quite some time.

"When I was little, I liked to move around a lot, do all kinds of steps and things like that. I looked at all the positions, and running back seemed to fit best," Lydell Ross said. "Plus I like to be the person everybody's trying to get.

"Saturday mornings at Skyway ... those games were fun. I remember thinking when I scored that it felt good. And that's when I knew football was something I wanted to pursue."

The pursuit of those touchdowns started the same way his father began his football career -- dodging trees and whatever else got in his way while carrying a football through his front yard. Those trees and bushes prepared Ross for the defensive backs and linebackers he makes look stationary with a simple wiggle of his hips or head fake.

"I told him that when I was growing up, that I used to use trees and telephone poles as imaginary defenders, and he started doing that," Melvin Ross said.

That doesn't mean the two Rosses are exactly the same.

"I kind of taught him some little things," Melvin Ross said. "The main thing I told him was when you get to the sideline to turn on the afterburners. But he's a whole lot better than I ever was. I was good enough to play in the Big Ten, but he's a lot better than that."

Talking to Ross, his parents and his coach, you get the feeling his record isn't nearly as important as the level-headed manner in which he juked and jiggled his way into county history. Nor is it as important as the humility he displayed during the pursuit of the honors.

"At the beginning of the season, I set my goals real high because that's the kind of person I am. That's what I like to do," Lydell Ross said. "When you set your goals high, even if you don't achieve them, the outcome is just as good. I've got the county record, and I'm very proud of that right now."

That humility and respect for everything around him is something Melvin and Francine Ross have instilled in each of their four children.

Melvin Ross retired from the Air Force, where he worked in law enforcement. He knows discipline and the importance respect and responsibility play in everyday life.

Even before those games at Skyway Field, Lydell was taught the rules and how to respect the game his father grew up loving.

"He always gave me good information about football and how to carry myself," Lydell Ross said. "I've always been very respectful of my coaches and referees. I've always wanted to learn and been willing to listen and done what they've told me as I've grown up. And that falls off into whatever I do outside of football.

"He's never really gotten mad at me for something I've done on the field. He would correct me if I dropped the ball after scoring a touchdown. He'd tell me to hand the ball to the referee and to have respect for the game. That's why I always hand them the ball when I score. And no dancing. Never any dancing."

Gaither coach Howie DeCristofaro said Ross's upbringing is one of the things that sets him apart not only from a lot of other football players, but also a lot of other teenagers.

"His father is ex-military, so Lydell was raised with a lot of discipline," DeCristofaro said. "His father is very responsible and very respectful, and that's rubbed off on his son, who is exactly the same as his father. That's one of the problems with society today. There's not that presence at home for a lot of kids. Lydell's got it."

When he's not playing football or in the weight room, Ross is a typical high school senior. He does not spend all weekend at home studying to keep up his 3.3 grade point average. And he has not given up on girls just to further his football career.

"Saturday nights, I go to movies and do other things just like everybody else," Ross said. "I just like hanging out with my friends. I do have a life after football."

That life will certainly continue next year when Ross is playing at some Division I-A college.

The question now is: Which one?

Introducing: Lydell Ross HEIGHT: 6-1. WEIGHT: 215.

POSITION: Running back.

40-YARD DASH: 4.4 seconds.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE: 3.3.

FAVORITE FOOD: "There's so many." Prime rib wins out.

FAVORITE MOVIE: Boogie Nights.

FAVORITE PRO TEAM: Tennessee Titans.

FAVORITE PRO PLAYER: Eddie George, Titans running back.

FAVORITE TV SHOW: Martin.

COLLEGES CONSIDERING: Auburn, Florida, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Tennessee.

Game-by-game

(Date, Opponent, Yds)

Sept. 8 -- Sickles -229

Sept. 15 -- Wharton -290

Sept. 22 -- Hillsborough -91

Sept. 29 -- King -306

Oct. 6 -Sara. Riverview -166

Oct. 12 -- Tampa Bay Tech -264

Oct. 20 -- Bloomingdale -243

Oct. 27 -- Plant -227

Nov. 3 -Robinson -229

Nov. 9 -Chamberlain -105

Total: 2,150

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