THE HANDOFF: FROM BAILEY TO ROSS

By Mason Kelley

By Washington Huskies

December 29^th, 2016

John Ross knew the name. The receiver watched the film. He knew what Mario Bailey meant to Washington in 1991.

So, when the Huskies’ young talent had the opportunity to meet the national champion, Ross said he, “lit up like a Christmas tree.”

“We clicked as soon as we met each other,” Ross said. “Just to see the impact he made with the size he had. He was the definition of heart.”

Ross has a few inches and a couple of pounds on Bailey, but their college careers share one key characteristic – they make plays.

“I always talk and preach being a playmaker and that doesn’t mean just offense or defense, it’s everything, that person you know, when the team needs a play, they are going to make one.”

During the Huskies’ 1991 national championship season – this year marks the 25th anniversary of Washington’s title – Bailey caught 17 touchdown passes, finishing the year with more than 1,000 receiving yards.

“That’s greatness,” Ross said.

Now Ross, well, something special seems to happen just about every time he touches the football. He averaged 75 yards per scoring play as a sophomore and, of his seven touchdowns, six were 55 yards or longer.

“He can do it on offense,” Bailey said. “Kickoffs. Punt. You put him on defense, he’s going to make a play. That’s what I enjoy most, watching a playmaker play.”

After missing last season with an injury, Ross is looking forward to an explosive season. He looks at Bailey’s numbers and thinks, “I’m capable of that if I keep working.”

Like Bailey before him, Ross carries a belief that he has invested the effort to find success on Saturdays. He wants to take his penchant for big plays and channel that effort into a strong junior season.

“I just want to do things the way he did and leave a legacy like he did,” Ross said.

With the 2016 campaign on the horizon, Bailey was asked about playing in Husky Stadium. He was asked to describe what it felt like when Washington’s fan frenzy was at its peak. He pointed to one game – the Huskies’ 1990 matchup with USC.

“That was the first time we had the big boys on the block,” Bailey said. “They came in here with Todd Marinovich and we just killed them. I’ve never heard the stadium like that.”

That 31-0 victory finished with Marinovich saying, “I just saw purple. That’s all I saw. No numbers, no faces, just purple.”

Bailey still remembers standing on the sideline, marveling at the Huskies’ defense.

“The defense was everywhere,” he said.

And, despite the lopsided score, “Even when the game was over, the stadium was still full.”

That game was a sign of a strong future for the Huskies, a statement that helped the program build toward the national championship the following season.

When Ross was asked about playing at Husky Stadium, he pointed to his first game as freshman. It was the first game in a new-look stadium. The place was packed.

Ross remembers catching a punt in warmups before looking up toward the crowd.

“There was nothing but purple,” he said. “When the game started, I couldn’t hear myself talk.”

Those moments, the games when the stadium is full and the crowd is loud, has an impact on Washington players.

“We get super fired up, the whole team,” he said. “It’s a feeling you can’t even explain. We’re going to play, even if there’s one fan out there, but they help so much. We feed off of them. When they get super loud, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re feeling us. We have to do something for them, because they’re supporting us.’”

Both Bailey and Ross have their memories of a purple-packed stadium. They have turned in big plays at critical moments. But Ross and his Huskies still have a chapter to write.

“They understand what his (coach Chris Petersen) vision is, his foundation,” Bailey said. “That’s how you start it. That’s what coach (Don) James did. He had a vision. He implemented it. As we started to follow and he got the people in he wanted, that’s when we got turned loose.