Western Michigan, Wheeling's Weston Ross a perfect fit

Weston Ross of Western Michigan.

Sounds like a perfect fit. It definitely was for the Wheeling senior running back who officially made it "Weston" Michigan on Wednesday when he signed his national letter of intent with the Kalamazoo school.

"They showed they were real interested in me as much as I was interested in them," Ross said Monday night of the scholarship offer he verbally accepted last summer.

It's a nice culmination to what was an interesting final season of high school football for the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Ross. It couldn't have started any better with a career-high 179 yards and 2 touchdowns in the season opener.

It couldn't have turned much worse in the fourth quarter of the same game when he suffered a sprained foot in the same game and was sidelined for a month.

"The injury set me back more mentally than physically," Ross said. "The fact of knowing, 'What could I do this season or what records could I have broken?' "

But no one wanted to make a bad break even worse. So when he did return, Wheeling coach Dave Dunbar and the school's athletic training staff were cautious with Ross because of his future.

"I thank the coaching staff and training staff for that," Ross said. "It was the most unselfish thing they could have done."

Ross, whose cousin is former NFL and University of Illinois star Simeon Rice, saw his future take a bright turn this summer. He went to seven college camps and made an impression in his first visit to Western Michigan with his 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash.

He was asked to return two weeks later for another evaluation camp and was offered a scholarship by head coach Bill Cubit and running backs coach Mike Sabock.

"It was personal and little bit emotional with them," Ross said. "I felt like I fit right in."

And the school didn't waver from its offer even though Ross never felt like he returned to 100 percent health until the end of the season. The support there and at home from his mom Angela, who made sure all of Ross' academic requirements were in order, helped him get through the difficult time of his injury.

"She's definitely my rock," Ross said. "She's there when I'm sick an not feeling so good and there when I'm on top of my game."

Now Ross is fully healthy and looking to make his third trip to the state track meet in the high jump with a lofty possible goal of clearing seven feet.

And then he'll leap into Division I football at Western Michigan, where he plans to study to become a physical education teacher and coach. He also has hopes of playing in the NFL or becoming a police officer.

"It's extremely exciting," Ross said. "As soon as I got the offer I've been waiting for the date to officially become a Bronco."

That big date finally arrived Wednesday for Weston Ross.