Clemson challenged receiver Justyn Ross. The freshman responded in a big way
Clemson receiver Justyn Ross said after Saturday’s win against Georgia Southern that “only time will tell” if he has earned more playing time moving forward.
Tigers co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott didn’t need much time to decide that the freshman is ready for more opportunities after leading the Tigers with three catches for 103 yards and a touchdown last week.
“There’s no doubt he’s become one of our top playmakers on offense,” Scott said Monday. “He had no missed assignments in this last game and he ended up grading out a winner, so that was definitely a positive step for him. He’s one of those guys in that room that makes us better offensively.”
Ross played only one snap in Week 2 against Texas A&M and did not have a catch.
Scott and the rest of the Clemson coaching staff challenged him to step up in practice last week and show that he was a guy that could be relied on, no matter the situation. It’s safe to say Ross got the message.
“There’s no doubt ability-wise what he can do. You don’t just want to put him out there in certain situations and say, ‘Hey, just for this play go do this.’ You really want him to be able to go and execute the entire offense,” Scott said. “So I really felt like he was challenged last week in practice getting ready and learning the game plan, knowing it’d be a game he’d get some opportunities and knowing what he did with that opportunity would dictate how many reps and stuff he’d get.”
The first reception of the game for Ross came in the second quarter when he put a double move on a defender, completely turning the defender around, and found himself wide open over the middle of the field.
Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence hit Ross in stride before Ross was off to the races, juking a pair of defenders on his way to the end zone.
“I actually watched him the whole way because I knew we had the look. So it was just a matter of whether he would execute the route,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said. “And boy, what a great, great route he ran and the protection was good and Trevor threw a strike. So it was good to see, because that’s what we’ve seen in practice.”
Ross has been working diligently on his route running since arriving on campus this summer, and the work appears to be paying off.
“Since I’ve been here, that’s all I’ve been working on is my routes. I’ve been trying to get better. Coach Scott helped. It’s just been getting better every day,” Ross said. “Even though I’ve been here like two months, I see a real big difference.”
He also has been working on developing a chemistry with Lawrence. Ross added a 29-yard reception from Lawrence in the third quarter, and it appears as though the two will give defenses fits for at least the next three years.
“I feel like we have a great chemistry. It’s opening up some more in practice. We get a lot of reps together,” Ross said. “It’s just getting better and better every day.”
This story was originally published September 19, 2018 at 9:02 AM.