Jordan Gross
Encyclopedia
Jordan Alan Gross is an American football
offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers
of the National Football League
. He was drafted by the Panthers eighth overall in the 2003 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Utah
.
, where he was a letterman in football, basketball
, and track & field. In football, he was a first team All-State selection as both an offensive and defensive lineman as a senior, and helped lead his team to the Conference Championship as a sophomore. In basketball, he won All-Conference honors.
at the University of Utah
, in the Mountain West Conference
. After redshirting
his freshman year, he started three games for the Utes, and played in the Las Vegas Bowl
, where the co-MWC champion Utes beat Fresno State 17-16. The following season, he made All-MWC honorable mention after starting all 11 games, switching between offensive tackle and offensive guard. His versatility increased as a junior, as he played left tackle, left guard, and right tackle, and finished the season once again making the All-MWC honorable mention team. His offensive line allowed only five sacks
all season, which tied the University of Miami
Hurricanes record for fewest allowed in the nation. His streak of honorable mention ended his senior year, as he was promoted to All-MWC first team, as well as making the All-America
team. He was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy
, which is given to the best interior lineman in college football, after not allowing a sack all season at left tackle. Also of note is that during his first two years at Utah, one of his teammates was Steve Smith, who he would later play with in Carolina.
by Carolina. He started every game for the Panthers that season at right tackle, and in fact did not miss a single offensive play, a rarity for many veterans, much less rookies. He allowed only three sacks all season, and was an anchor on the offensive line that sent the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII
. He made the Pro Football Weekly
All-Rookie and Sports Illustrated
All-Pro teams that season. Due to retirements and personnel shifts, Gross moved from right tackle to left tackle for the 2004 NFL season
; he and center Jeff Mitchell
were the only two returning starters on the offensive line that season. The instability on the line was one of many problems for the Panthers, who were plagued with injuries, and they finished the season 7-9. The following year, he moved back to right tackle, and the Panthers' starters remained the same during the entire season. On February 19, 2008, the Panthers named Gross their franchise player and placed the franchise tag on him giving him a one year $7.45 million dollar deal. This later proved to be a good move, as he was voted to the 2009
Pro Bowl
. On February 19, 2009, the Panthers would sign Gross to a six-year contract, making him one of the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL. In a matchup against the Atlanta Falcons
on November 15, 2009, Gross broke his ankle, landing him on the injured reserve list and ending his participation in the 2009 NFL Season
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was drafted by the Panthers eighth overall in the 2003 NFL Draft
2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft was held April 26–27, 2003 at the Theatre at...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Utah
Utah Utes football
The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that currently competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice–Eccles...
.
Early years
Gross attended Fruitland High SchoolFruitland High School
Fruitland High School is the only high school in Fruitland, Idaho. It is one of three high schools in Payette County. In 2006, it had a student population of 512.-Notable alumni:* Jordan Gross – ; NFL Offensive tackle, Carolina Panthers...
, where he was a letterman in football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and track & field. In football, he was a first team All-State selection as both an offensive and defensive lineman as a senior, and helped lead his team to the Conference Championship as a sophomore. In basketball, he won All-Conference honors.
College career
Gross played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, in the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
. After redshirting
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
his freshman year, he started three games for the Utes, and played in the Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas Bowl
The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas is an NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. since 1992. From 1992 to 1996, matchups featured the champion teams from the Big West and Mid-American...
, where the co-MWC champion Utes beat Fresno State 17-16. The following season, he made All-MWC honorable mention after starting all 11 games, switching between offensive tackle and offensive guard. His versatility increased as a junior, as he played left tackle, left guard, and right tackle, and finished the season once again making the All-MWC honorable mention team. His offensive line allowed only five sacks
Quarterback sack
In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
all season, which tied the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
Hurricanes record for fewest allowed in the nation. His streak of honorable mention ended his senior year, as he was promoted to All-MWC first team, as well as making the All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
team. He was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy
Outland Trophy
The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named All-America at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in...
, which is given to the best interior lineman in college football, after not allowing a sack all season at left tackle. Also of note is that during his first two years at Utah, one of his teammates was Steve Smith, who he would later play with in Carolina.
Awards and honors
- 2× Honorable mention All-Mountain WestMountain West ConferenceThe Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
(2000–2001) - First-team All-Mountain West (2002)
- Consensus All-AmericaAll-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n (2002) - Outland TrophyOutland TrophyThe Outland Trophy is awarded to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named All-America at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in...
finalist (2002)
Professional career
Gross was taken in the first round (8th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft was held April 26–27, 2003 at the Theatre at...
by Carolina. He started every game for the Panthers that season at right tackle, and in fact did not miss a single offensive play, a rarity for many veterans, much less rookies. He allowed only three sacks all season, and was an anchor on the offensive line that sent the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
. He made the Pro Football Weekly
Pro Football Weekly
Pro Football Weekly is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, that covers the National Football League...
All-Rookie and Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
All-Pro teams that season. Due to retirements and personnel shifts, Gross moved from right tackle to left tackle for the 2004 NFL season
2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
; he and center Jeff Mitchell
Jeff Mitchell
Jeffrey Clay "Jeff" Mitchell is a former American college and professional player who was a center in the National Football League for nine seasons during the 1990s and 2000s...
were the only two returning starters on the offensive line that season. The instability on the line was one of many problems for the Panthers, who were plagued with injuries, and they finished the season 7-9. The following year, he moved back to right tackle, and the Panthers' starters remained the same during the entire season. On February 19, 2008, the Panthers named Gross their franchise player and placed the franchise tag on him giving him a one year $7.45 million dollar deal. This later proved to be a good move, as he was voted to the 2009
2009 Pro Bowl
The 2009 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2008 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 8, 2009. This was the last time that a Pro Bowl game was held after the NFL Super Bowl game...
Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
. On February 19, 2009, the Panthers would sign Gross to a six-year contract, making him one of the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL. In a matchup against the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
on November 15, 2009, Gross broke his ankle, landing him on the injured reserve list and ending his participation in the 2009 NFL Season
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
.