Freshman runner Ross shines during Quick Lane Bowl loss to Minnesota
DETROIT — As the Chippewas battled back and even took the lead briefly during the 2015 Quick Lane Bowl, they benefited from another solid performance from one of the youngest members of the team.
True freshman running back Romello Ross — a Detroit native from Detroit Western — carried the ball 19 times for 100 yards and the go-ahead touchdown during his team's 21-14 loss to Minnesota on Monday at Ford Field. He also had four catches for 28 yards.
"I'm glad we got to a bowl game and were able to showcase our abilities," Ross said. "It didn't go the way we wanted, but sometimes it goes like that."
On Ross' emphatic scoring run, he kept his legs churning and carried two Minnesota defenders into the end zone with him.
“It was just well-blocked up to the safety," he said. "As a running back, when you get to the safety, you’ve just got to be able to keep your feet pumping and then everybody else got on board with it and we pushed the ball in.”
Head Coach John Bonamego said he was impressed with Ross' performance.
"I’m very proud of him and he’s a Chippewa," Bonamego said. "He plays the game the way you expect him to play and the way we expect everybody to play. He’s got a very high degree of maturity about himself for a really young guy and how he carries himself. "
Ross ran for three touchdowns and caught one more during the Chippewas' regular season finale — a win over Eastern Michigan at home. He followed that performance up with an effort that had CMU in a position to win the game.
It was the punctuation mark on what turned out to be a solid second half of the season for Ross, who at the start of the season planned on redshirting at the beginning of the season.
"(CMU's coaching staff) had they had enough trust in me to get on the field, so I can’t prove them wrong," Ross said. "I’ve got to show them that it was the right decision.”
