UConn redshirt-sophomore wide receiver Cam Ross came into this year's fall camp ready to work and excited about a new opportunity.
The exciting receiver was ready to compete with a new roster filled with talent, especially at the wide receiver position. He had worked hard to come back from a broken foot injury he sustained in 2021 in just the team's second game of the season. He was under a new head coach in Jim Mora, a man who could take his game to new heights. He'd already shown what he could do in his freshman season with the Huskies, leading the team in 2019 with 60 catches for 723 yards. As an excellent receiving target for the team, he was set for an exciting redshirt sophomore campaign.
Then came the foot injury.
As quickly as the anticipation was rising for him, it all came crashing down. Ross suffered another broken foot early in camp that many expected to force him out for the season. The doubt came creeping in. Could he come back from another injury? Was his hard work all for nothing? It was another setback for Ross yet his confidence never faltered. The mental aspect, Ross learned, was the most important aspect of recovering from back-to-back injuries.
"It's easy to let doubt creep into your mind. It's easy to let it creep into your mind after one injury and then after two, it can be hard to get it out of your mind. But, you've just got to have a strong mental attitude when you go through things like this and that's all it ever was for me, especially in this process. Just keep making sure my head space was in a good place and letting the physical stuff work itself out," said Ross.
When the UConn receiver got surgery, he knew he would be back. He got straight to work. Unlike his previous foot injury, Ross attacked this injury with more aggression. The determination to dawn the blue and white this season was constantly on his mind and as a result of focusing on the mental aspect of his recovery, the process felt much smoother.
Ross had plenty of people in his corner helping him along the way, whether that was his wide receivers coach John Allen or Coach Mora. He gained inspiration from players like Klay Thompson, the star shooting guard of the Golden State Warriors who had come off back-to-back injuries and yet still defied the adversity that stood in his way.
"I kind of resonated with that very well so I just watched a lot of his stuff just seeing where his head space was at. Watching his stuff definitely let me know that it was ok to have some doubt and bad head space at first, but you gotta pursue through it," said Ross.
As he recovered, his teammates rallied around Ross to hold his head high. He saw players like his fellow receiver Keelan Marion come back from a collarbone injury that left him unable to contribute on the field. In Ross' words, "Everybody wants it." That energy from his teammates only added fuel to the pertinacious attitude of Ross. As he's seen his teammates defy the odds and grab upset wins against teams like Fresno State and Boston College, it's been the biggest fuel for him in his rehab process.
"I didn't care if it was one game, four games, or half the season. I just wanted to get something in with these guys and the more games watching them and watching what we could do, seeing them give their all out, I just want to go to war with them and now I've kind of got my opportunity this week to do that and so now I'm just taking it a day at a time. But, it was always my intent to come back and go to war with these guys. That's all I've ever wanted to do," said Ross.
The work that Ross put in during his weeks of rehabilitation soon started to pay off. The UConn receiver was soon cleared to resume activity and got straight to work. He was playing catch on the side. He was running around doing drills. It was one of the first things that caught coach Mora's eye during one Tuesday practice.
"A huge surprise today was I saw this kid No. 7 running around out there – this was pre-practice – and it was Cam Ross," said Mora.
Mora has seen Ross from the very beginning of his UConn career. During his time as a commentator on TV with ESPN, he's seen him stretch the field as a dynamic receiver with impressive speed as a freshman at Rentschler Field. Three years later, Mora is now the head coach of the Huskies and has the opportunity to help guide Ross to become an even better receiver. With both Coach Mora and Coach Allen helping him get even better, he's been really blessed to have that level of guidance during such an important point in his college career.
"It definitely raises your game a lot. They're just good people. They're people that you don't want to let down. They're people that you don't want to disappoint and they're people that you want to give your all for every play. It helps me a lot because it makes me want to go hard every rep and it makes me compete against myself to not let myself lack or take a rep off because I want to do it for guys like coach Mora and coach Allen," said Ross.
Despite the time that has passed since that 2019 season and a small jersey change from his freshman jersey of nine to seven, Ross is ready to remind people that he's still the same skilled receiver that caught the attention of UConn fans and opposing defenders. He leaves UConn fans with one message before the team's Friday night lights matchup against UMass.
"I love UConn Nation. It's been breaking my heart the last couple of years that I haven't been able to put on a performance out there for them and help contribute to winning these games for them. It will be coming very soon and I can't wait to go out there in front of them," said Ross.
