Almost seamlessly, Josh Ross has made the chart-topping transition from hard-hitting college defensive back to one of country’s top heartbreak balladeers. His success now seems to be moving even faster than his 40-yard dash time.
Trading Cover 2 defenses for creating a music playlist that now attracts nearly three million monthly Spotify listeners is quite the achievement for an artist who first picked up a guitar after football-related injuries kept him from pursuing the sport any longer.
Last year became a landmark year for Ross: After dropping his debut album, Later Tonight, he hit No. 1 on U.S. country radio with “Single Again,” and racked up multiple CCMA awards—Canada’s version of the CMAs—including Entertainer of the Year. Now a veteran on major tours, he’s opened for Jelly Roll and, before he begins headlining his own Later Tonight tour in February, Ross is set to take the stage at Luke Bryan’s annual “Crash My Playa” in Mexico.
And the accolades keep coming—Ross was also recently named one of Country Radio Seminar’s 2026 New Faces of Country Music. Not bad for a former college athlete who originally didn’t see music becoming his full-time gig. “I would sing at parties or karaoke or whatever it may be, but I didn’t take it seriously at first,” Ross admits. “It wasn’t the cool thing. Sports was the cool thing.”
These days, Josh Ross still carries an athlete’s drive, but he’s adapted that intensity for a new purpose. Success in the studio and stage has forced him to make some sporting sacrifices for the sake of his long-term career. An avid BMX fan, Ross admits to being more risk-averse for the safety of his career as well as his body. “I have two bikes, but I don’t ride one—it wouldn’t be good,” he says.
That trade-off doesn’t mean Ross has let go of his football mentality. The gym remains a second home of sorts, but his training goals have now shifted from performance on the field to the stage. Singing hit songs for 90 minutes takes precedence over knocking receivers to the turf, and this reality means less power cleans and more cardio to stay strong throughout a demanding yearlong tour.
“With music, just like football, you knock down what’s in front of you and keep running forward.”
Instead of Hitting Wide Receivers, Josh Ross Now Trains to Keep Hitting the High Notes
As a defensive back at Ontario’s Western University from 2012 to 2016, Josh Ross relied on his speed to make an immediate and intimidating impact on opposing offenses.
“My thing was to go out at the beginning of the game and try and hit somebody as hard as I could,” Ross says. “Then they don’t want to come across and catch the ball again. That was always my tactic, whether that was smart or not.”
At 6′, 185 pounds, Ross says his athleticism came from an equal blend of speed and strength. He recalls being clocked at 4.47 seconds in the 40-yard dash. His weightroom numbers were equally impressive, benching 225 pounds for 12 reps while boasting a power clean PR of 285 pounds.
He’s still proud of those numbers—and says he may one day try to match them—but after a recent workout came a sobering reminder of how much music has pulled him away from his former athletic peak.
“In London, I went one morning and wanted to just let out some energy, and I started doing power cleans and stuff like that,” he says. “The next morning, I woke up and thought, I have not been this sore in my shoulders and lats and traps for so long. Every once in a while, I still feel like I can do it, but I definitely can’t.”
Instead of prioritizing explosive, max-effort, dynamic training as he did during football, Ross now follows a more traditional bodypart-split routine. The simplicity helps these days, especially with the grueling travel schedule that goes with being a top-selling country artist. He brings a set of dumbbells on the road, but will adjust his workouts to fit whatever the accommodations provide—be it a fully equipped fitness center or a limited hotel gym.
“Now I just do back and biceps, shoulders and chest, and a leg day—those kinds of splits,” he explains. “Plus I’ll mix in a little core work at the end and maybe a bit of cardio.”
Although his job no longer requires him to cover 110 yards from sideline to sideline, Ross admits that touring more than 100 days a year requires a new kind of conditioning to keep hitting high notes without gasping for air by encore time.
“The best way to train for singing is to sprint and then stop and sing a verse, then sprint again and sing a verse,” he says. “Interval style training would translate well for this.”
Josh Ross
Balancing Fitness and Band Life on the Road Requires Teamwork
No longer training for football means Ross sometimes finds balance away from both the weight room and the stage. Sometimes, that’s as easy as a bit of catch-and-release at a local pond. “If I have an hour to kill, I’ll go try out and see what there is,” he says. Like other artists, Ross enjoys the occasional round of golf, though he admits managing his swing is tougher than music. “I wish I could say I was good at golf,” he says. “I’ll play. I’m not great, but I enjoy it.”
If there’s one sport he’d choose to pursue after football, Ross says motocross—a passion passed down from his father—would still top the list. “If I could pick one sport in the world that I could have been a professional at, that would have been it.” While the risk of injury keeps him off the bike now, he’s glad to share his passion with like-minded bandmates. “I still watch Supercross on TV when we’re on the road or on the bus,” he says. “Some of the guys are super invested in it as well, which is cool.”
The bonding between Ross and the band extends beyond watching BMX videos. Getting stronger together, he says, plays a part in a stronger performance come show time.Ross makes a point to schedule workouts, whether it’s a quick morning session before interviews or a late afternoon exercise routine. “It’s been good to find a routine on the road. I think that’s the hardest part about being in weird time zones and schedules.”
On most show days, Josh and his band try to hit a local gym together for a late morning or midday workout, focusing on body-part-specific training. While it’s hard to build massive muscle on the road, keeping everyone accountable helps foster camaraderie—no matter where the tour takes them. “We try to find a local gym, get back by one or two, then it’s sound check around three,” he says. “We’ll even run if we can.
Because of the unpredictability of touring life, self-discipline, Ross says, becomes one of the keys to staying in top shape year-round, which makes nutrition a critical part as well. While traveling, he focuses on protein-rich meals and keeps pre-made options on the bus to avoid late-night fast food stops. Protein shakes and bars help keep him fueled and healthy while on the road.
“I try to be conscious of my protein intake and keep pre-made meals, like Factor meals, on the bus. If the guys stop for McDonald’s at 2 a.m., I’ll pull out one of those meals instead.”
Football played a major role in Josh Ross’s life, but back-to-back ligament tears in his right ankle required reconstructive surgery and two separate rehab stints. The time away forced Ross to come to a necessary realization that the sport was only a temporary part of his personal evolution.
“It’s a long process—four to eight months—and it was really frustrating to come back, only to have the same thing happen again on my second day back on the field. Then it’s like, okay, reset and go through almost another half a year of rehab. I lost my love for it.”
Those injuries ultimately shifted his passion from zone coverage to covering tunes onstage. As he gradually stepped away from football, Ross turned to music as a new outlet, teaching himself guitar and even some piano through YouTube tutorials.
Growing up in Ontario, Ross first experimented with lyrics by journaling about daily life—a habit that eventually led to his earliest songwriting attempts, including his college song “Cheap Red Wine,” among others. “They were terrible,” he admits with a laugh. “At that time I probably thought it was the best song ever. Then you get humbled very quickly.”
Although he stopped playing football, Ross found that success in music required the same relentless mindset: “Football taught me that if you want something, you’ve got to grind.” Some words of wisdom from his head coach, Greg Marshall, also reassured him he was on the right path. “He told me that if you’re not completely in [football], just don’t do it,” Ross recalls. “You can do so much else.”
By 2019, Ross was living in Nashville full-time, and all the hard work began to pay off. He relied again on teamwork—this time with groups of writers—and soon the hits started coming. In 2022, his single “First Taste of Gone” gave him his first taste of national recognition. That year, he was a Rising Star nominee at the Canadian Country Music Awards and performed at the Grey Cup halftime show.
Two years later, Ross officially achieved breakout status. He’s followed up the success of “Single Again” with the popular “Hate How You Look,” setting the stage for the first leg of his Later Tonight tour, which starts Feb. 6 in New Brunswick, Canada.
“These past two years have been especially good for me—I definitely feel like I’m on the right track. Between special venues, awards, and my first number one at US country radio, there have been a lot of wins, and I’m very grateful for all of them.”
