Ross Homan (born March 5, 1987) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. After playing

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, he was drafted by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in the sixth round of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. He was also a member of the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Early years

Homan played high school football at his hometown Coldwater High School, where he recorded more than 300 solo tackles and 182 assists, including 25 tackles for lost yardage. He also was Ohio's 2005 Division IV Player of the Year and led Coldwater to the 2005 Ohio Division IV State Championship. In his career at Coldwater, he also played running back where he recorded 2,418 yards and 40 touchdowns on 382 carries and caught 43 passes for 737 yards and nine touchdowns.

College career

During his college career, he had a major impact on the defense of the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

. He recorded 253

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

, two forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

, and seven

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s. Asked by recruiters why he had "only" 120 tackles his senior year he admitted he had played with a broken collarbone.

Professional career

Homan was selected with the 200th overall pick in the sixth round of the

by the

. He was released by the Vikings on September 3 during final roster cuts. On September 14, 2011, he was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

. He was released on September 18. He subsequently retired due to concussions suffered during his career.

Personal life

He is the son of David and Alice Homan of

Coldwater, Ohio Coldwater is a village in Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,427 at the 2010 census. History Coldwater was founded in 1838 and was originally called Buzzard's Glory for by David Buzzard who operated a general store. Cold ...

. He is the middle of two brothers. Adam played fullback for the

. He also is the cousin of former Buckeyes Bobby and Tommy Hoying. Ross graduated from Ohio State in the spring of 2011 with a marketing degree and currently resides in Lexington, Kentucky working in medical sales.

References

External links

Ohio State biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Homan, Ross Living people 1987 births American football linebackers Minnesota Vikings players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Ohio State Buckeyes football players People from Coldwater, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio