Career: Played in 49 career games with 38 starts (25 straight starts to finish career) ... Closes career with the third-most receiving yards (2,068) and fifth-most receptions (163) in NU history ... Also totaled 13 career receiving TD's, fourth-most on NU's all-time chart ... Three of his 13 career TD's were game-winning scores in the final seconds of the game (2005 vs. Iowa; 2007 vs. Nevada; 2007 vs. Indiana) ... Outstanding athlete (was an all-state receiver and soccer goalie in high school) ... Played primarily at an outside receiver spot.

2008: Recipient of team's Thomas Airth Spirit Award ... Ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 4.62 catches per game and 10th with 49.2 receiving yards per contest ... In 2008 Alamo Bowl vs. Missouri, caught five passes for 77 yards, including a 23-yard third-quarter TD catch ... Against Illinois, caught a 14-yard TD pass and finished with six catches for 57 yards ... At Michigan, hauled in seven passes for 77 yards, including his first TD of the year, a 17-yard game-tying strike from C.J. Bachér in the third quarter ... Named team's offensive player of the game vs. Michigan ... Caught four passes for 32 yards against Ohio State ... One catch for seven yards at Minnesota ... Led the team with five catches for 31 yards at Indiana ... Hauled in four passes for 27 yards vs. Purdue ... Grabbed a career-high-tying nine passes for 113 yards (third most in career) against Michigan State ... Named team's offensive big playmaker vs. the Spartans ... Versus Iowa, caught six passes for 66 yards, including a key 35-yarder on NU's opening drive of the second half ... Versus Ohio, caught three passes for 18 yards ... Against Southern Illinois, hauled in five passes for 49 yards ... Against Duke, caught two passes for 46 yards, including a 28-yard grab ... Caught three passes for 40 yards against Syracuse.

2007: Team leader in receiving TD's (7) ... Ranked second on team in receptions (49) and receiving yardage (649) ... Surpassed the 100-mark for career receptions against Indiana ... Against Michigan, became the 26th player in NU history to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for career receiving yardage ... After notching a then-career-high nine receptions vs. Duke, did not come up with a catch at Ohio State ... Totaled 128 receiving yards, the second-highest figure of his career (had 136 yards vs. UCLA in 2005 Sun Bowl) ... Had just two catches against Nevada, but the second one, a 13-yard TD reception with 21 seconds remaining, was one of NU's biggest plays of the season ... Caught three passes for 32 yards and a TD in season-opening win vs. Northeastern ... His TD was a 2-yard catch ... NU's leader with six receptions for 87 yards against Michigan ... Four receptions for 44 yards and two TD's vs. MSU ... Recorded his third career 100-yard receiving game (108 yards) against Minnesota ... Caught nine passes, two of which went for TD's, vs. the Gophers ... Four catches for 40 yards vs. EMU ... Five receptions for 60 yards at Purdue ... Three catches for 67 yards vs. Iowa ... Four catches for 64 yards, including the game-winning TD (3-yarder) with 44 seconds left against Indiana.

2006: Turned in his top effort of the year vs. Michigan State: four catches for 71 yards and two TD's ... Had TD catches of 5 and 22 yards vs. the Spartans ... Three catches for 52 yards vs. Michigan ... Five receptions for 52 yards at Iowa ... Against Penn State, caught four passes for 66 yards, including a 36-yarder ... One reception vs. New Hampshire ... Two receptions for 14 yards vs. Eastern Michigan ... Caught two passes for 48 yards, which included the season's longest pass play, a 39-yard grab, at Nevada ... Two receptions for 22 yards at Wisconsin ... One catch against Purdue ... Caught four passes for 28 yards vs. Ohio State ... Two receptions for 37 yards vs. Illinois ... Second among team regulars in yards per reception (13.4).

2005: Closed season by snaring 17 of his 24 receptions in the final four games ... Had the best performance of his rookie season in season-ending Sun Bowl game vs. UCLA: season-high seven catches for 136 yards ... Against Iowa, totaled six catches for 57 yards and his first career TD, which came with 42 seconds remaining in the game and was the game's winning score (NU won 28-27) ... His TD helped NU overcome deficits of 24-7 and 27-14 ... Earned his first start against Northern Illinois ... Caught his first pass vs. NIU, but the play was nullified by a Northwestern penalty ... Came back the next week vs. Arizona State and caught four passes for a total of 73 yards, one of which was a key 27-yard reception on NU's first scoring drive ... Had one reception for 17 yards vs. Penn State ... Caught another 27-yard pass vs. Wisconsin, but two of his season's biggest plays might have been recovering back-to-back onside kicks by the Badgers late in the game ... Grabbed a pass for a fourth straight game with his 19-yard reception at Purdue ... Four catches for 49 yards at Illinois ... Team's fifth-leading receiver (24 catches).

2004: Redshirted ... Named team's Offensive Practice Player of the Week vs. Purdue.

High School: Florida Varsity 2A Player of the Year ... Finished in third place in Mr. Football Florida voting ... First-team all-state, all-district and all-area wide receiver in 2003 ... PrepStar all-region selection ... Ranked second in the state in receiving yardage (1,173) his senior year ... Set nine school records his senior year -- single-game receptions (14), single-game receiving yardage (260), single-game TD receptions (four), single-season receptions (54), single-season receiving yards (1,173), single-season TD receptions (15), career receptions (114), career receiving yardage (2,322), career TD receptions (26) ... Besides receiver, also played safety and punter ... Second-team all-area wide receiver as a junior ... Prep Athlete of the Week by Cape Coral Breeze and Ft. Myers News Press ... Team captain ... Playing in John Carrigan Rotary South All-Star Classic ... The Vikings compiled a three-year record of 27-8 during his career, with two regional final appearances ... Also lettered in track (five events) and soccer ... Track team MVP as a junior ... Placed 11th in state 300-meter hurdles ... 2003 all-area second-team goalie for soccer team ... Starting goalie for the 2004 state runner-up ... Coached by Mike Marciano.

Personal: Born Ross Alexander Lane ... Son of Richard and Renee Lane ... Mother was a diver at Texas Tech ... Chose NU over Pittsburgh ... Learning and organizational change major.

The Ross Lane File
Q: The song that best desribes you is ...
A: "Waiting In Vain" by Bob Marley
Q: If you could dine with anyone from any period in history, who would it be?
A: One of the Roman Emperors when they were in their prime state of domination
Q: If you could choose the title of your autobiography, what would it be?
A: "I Wrote an Autobiography So My Stories Could Live On"
Q: What is the greatest lesson in life that you have learned?
A: Have fun, but don't get caught
Q: Something people would be surprised to know about me is ...
A: I'm 1/16th Cherokee
Q: My favorite opposing stadium to play in is ...
A: Arizona State
Q:When I played football as a kid, I pretended to be ...
A: Deion Sanders
Q: Which current NU football player is the biggest jokester?
A: Gerard Hamlett
Q: If you could suddenly possess an extraordinary talent in one of the arts, what would you like it to be?
A: The ability to write/compose/play music
Q: What are you most thankful for in life?
A: My mom
Q: My football-related superstition is ...
A: My Curious George boxers
Q: The three words that best describe me:
A: Real, Fun, Guy

Lane's Career Stats

RECEIVING              G   Rec    Yds  TD  Lg Rec/G Avg/C Avg/G2005................  12    24    378   1  45   2.0  15.8  31.52006................  12    30    401   2  39   2.5  13.4  33.42007................  12    49    649   7  45   4.1  13.2  54.12008................  13    60    640   3  35   4.6  10.7  49.2TOTAL...............  49   163   2068  13  45   3.3  12.7  42.2
SCORING                G    TD  Rush  Pass Retn  PAT 2PAT   FG  Total Avg/G2005................  12     1     0     1    0    0    0    0      6   0.52006................  12     2     0     2    0    0    0    0     12   1.02007................  12     7     0     7    0    0    1    0     44   3.72008................  13     3     0     3    0    0    0    0     18   1.4TOTAL...............  49    13     0    13    0    0    1    0     80   1.6
ALL PURPOSE            G  Rush   Rec    PR    KR    IR  Total Avg/G2005................  12     0   378     0     0     0    378  31.52006................  12     0   401     0     0     0    401  33.42007................  12     0   649     0     0     0    649  54.12008................  13     0   640     0     0     0    640  49.2TOTAL...............  49     0  2068     0     0     0   2068  42.2
TACKLES                G    UA     A Total    TFL-Yds    PD   FF   FR Blkd2005................  12     1     0     1    0.0-0       0    0    1    02006................  12     0     0     0    0.0-0       0    0    0    02007................  12     0     1     1    0.0-0       0    0    0    02008................  13     1     0     1    0.0-0       0    0    0    0TOTAL...............  49     2     1     3    0.0-0       0    0    1    0