Here’s the Catch: Receiver Ross Loves Pressure Situations : Football: Carson standout will close out his high school career in Shrine Game. Then he will try to showcase his talents at Fresno State.

Many athletes eventually succumb to the pressure of a game, but Michael Ross thrives on it.

When Ross takes the field on Saturday for the Shrine All-Star Football Classic, he wants the pressure to follow.

“I always put pressure on myself to do well in a game,” Ross said. “It’s like, ‘You have to come through Michael. If you don’t come through, you’ve failed yourself.’ ”

“I always feel the pressure of losing. If you don’t fear the pressure and you don’t fear losing, you’re not human. You have to fear something. And when you come through that fear, it makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something big.”

The fear and the pressure have obviously paid off for the 6-foot-1, 170-pound wide receiver from Carson High. Ross, 17, shattered several Carson records in his senior season, setting career records for catches (80), yards receiving (1,527) and touchdowns (22). His season records include touchdowns (15), punt return yardage (382), and most yards receiving in a game (205).

Carson has produced a bevy of outstanding wide receivers, including Wesley Walker of the New York Jets, Michael Wilson of the San Francisco 49ers and Derek Hill of Pittsburgh.

According to several coaches in the area, Ross might be the next Carson alumnus to break into the NFL. But he must first prove himself at Fresno State. Ross will redshirt his freshman year because he failed to meet Proposition 48 standards.

“I’m not going to lie, it (Fresno State) was a very big joke to me,” Ross said, smiling. “I was like, ‘Oh, Fresno State, I’ve never even heard of them.’ ”

“I’ve only seen Fresno State on TV one time on Prime Ticket. They were playing at Bulldog Stadium. I flipped the station and looked and said, ‘Oh man, this is one of those lightweight games.’ I never thought I would be going there.”

Ross, who also considered offers from Cal State Long Beach and Nevada, Las Vegas, quickly changed his attitude when he found out about other receivers who had played at Fresno State, including Henry Ellard of the Rams, Stephone Paige of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Stephen Baker of the New York Giants.

“My eyes lit up when I heard that Henry Ellard went there because he is one of my idols,” Ross said. “When I heard these guys (Ellard and Paige) came from Fresno I thought, my God, I’m being recruited by a big school.”

Trabuco Hills Coach Jim Barnett, who is coaching the South squad in the Shrine Game and who coached Paige at Long Beach Poly in the late ‘70s, said there is no comparison between the two athletes.

“At this point, Michael is a lot better than Stephone Paige was (coming out of high school),” Barnett said. “Paige was taller, but he didn’t have the quickness and agility that Michael has. (Ross) is ready to play major college ball right now, where as Stephone was a late bloomer.”

Barnett is excited to have Ross as his No. 1 wideout.

“He has a burning desire to catch the ball,” Barnett said. “When that ball is in the air, he thinks it is his.”

Carson Coach Gene Vollnogle, who coached Ross for two years, echoes Barnett’s sentiments.

“He runs excellent routes, reads the defense well and finds the seams,” Vollnogle said. “He has great hands, great leaping ability and enjoys going across the middle. He is a complete football player.”

Vollnogle, the winningest prep coach in California history with a record of 298-75-1, said that Ross has “adequate speed” and “bursts of speed,” but his 4.6 time in the 40-yard dash could be improved.

“If he were an outright sprinter he would be unstoppable,” he said. “But he’s so good right now that that one deficiency doesn’t show up much.”

Carson had a 24-3 record in Ross’ two years.

Ross, who is among 32 players on the South team, has recently overcome the intimidation he felt when he arrived at the Shrine Game training camp at UC Irvine a week ago.

“A game like this was a dream for me,” he said. “(But) I didn’t know it would be called the Shrine Game and that it would be at the Rose Bowl.”

Ross compares the Shrine Game to one of the biggest games of his life--the 1988 City Championship between Carson and Banning at the Coliseum.

“Coming down the tunnel, I didn’t feel anything,” he said. “Then I came out and saw that big scoreboard and all the people in the stands and I had to stop right there and catch my breath. I think I’m going to feel the same way when we jump into the Rose Bowl.”

Ross caught his breath and overcame the pressure of that game to score two touchdowns in the Colts’ 57-7 rout of Banning.

“That 11th-grade year put me on the map,” he said.

Ross certainly doesn’t show any signs of letting up.

“There’s been rough times in the past and I got through them,” he said. “So, the only thing I cannot get through is death. There are gonna be ups and downs, but you have to recover and keep on running because if you stop you’re gonna lose the race.”