When Jordan Ross arrived at LSU, it was hard to know what to expect.

Ross was a five-star recruit and the No. 3 edge rusher in the nation out of high school, according to the 247Sports Composite, but he didn’t produce much in two seasons at Tennessee. He played fewer than 270 snaps and registered only 13 quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus.

Lane Kiffin was taking a risk by bringing in Ross to start. So far, his bet is paying off.

Through seven contests, Ross leads the Tigers in quarterback pressures (24), has more sacks than he had at Tennessee (2.5) and has missed only one tackle all season, according to PFF. His strong start continued Saturday when the junior recorded 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble in LSU’s 31-0 win over Mississippi State.

“(LSU defensive ends) coach Sterling Lucas emphasizes, ‘You practice how you play,’ ” Ross said. “So me going into practice every day, training hard, I feel like it played into the game today.”

Ross was disruptive despite playing without his running mate and arguably LSU’s most valuable defensive player. Star edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen left the game in the first quarter with an injury and didn’t return, putting even more pressure on Ross to disrupt Mississippi State quarterback Parker Puckett and make plays in the backfield.

“(Princewill), he is like an older brother to me,” Ross said. “I learn from him, he learns from me. And we really just talk about how, as the leaders of the (edge rushers) room, we talked about we get an advantage on the offensive line and what I see and what he sees.”

Without Umanmielen, LSU turned to Dylan Carpenter and Lamar Brown. Carpenter has rotated in for the starters since the opener, but Brown’s playing time in Southeastern Conference play has been limited despite being a freshman five-star recruit. He didn’t play against Ole Miss and played only one snap at Kentucky.

Brown has talent and Carpenter’s been steady, but Ross was most responsible for making plays off the edge and pressuring Puckett, who started for the injured Kamario Taylor.

“Shoutout to the edge room,” linebacker TJ Dottery said. “Those are some good leaders, Ross and Princewill. So I have (great) confidence of whoever comes in behind them.”

Taylor’s absence, along with running back Fluff Bothwell's unavailability, put the Bulldogs in an insurmountable hole before the game even started. But Ross still won consistently at the line of scrimmage against either of Mississippi State’s offensive tackles, using his speed and athleticism to disrupt Puckett from the start.

It’s unclear how long Umanmielen will be unavailable, although Dottery said after the game that Umanmielen told him that he’d be OK. LSU has one more game against Auburn next Saturday before a much-needed off week arrives at the end of the month.

But if Umanmielen is out next week or longer, the Tigers will have to lean on Ross as their primary edge rusher.

LSU’s front four has been the strength of the defense this year. The Tigers have consistently disrupted quarterbacks thanks to defensive tackle Deuce Geralds and Umanmielen, who have 13 combined sacks.

That’ll be hard to maintain without Umanmielen, unless Ross can tap into his considerable potential even more.

“Leadership, for sure,” Dottery said after he was asked how Ross has improved since coming to LSU. “And on the field, I think his football IQ in general, understanding of the game and not only what he has to do, but, honestly, all 11 around him.”