Where Justyn Ross might fit into Clemson’s offense in 2019
Clemson is losing a mainstay in its starting lineup in Hunter Renfrow, a former walk-on receiver who left the Tigers as the school’s all-time leader in career starts by a wideout.
Luckily for the Tigers, they have one of the best freshman receivers in the country ready to step into a larger role.
Rising sophomore Justyn Ross became a bigger and bigger part of Clemson’s offense down the stretch in 2018 as co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Jeff Scott and the Tigers searched for more ways to get him on the field.
Even before the Alabama native exploded for 301 receiving yards and three touchdowns in College Football Playoff victories against Notre Dame and Alabama, Scott was already thinking about ways to get Ross more involved in 2019.
“It’s been a powerful punch for us having him and Tee (Higgins) on the boundary kind of coming in behind each other,” Scott said. “But there’s no doubt coming into spring practice, we’ll re-evaluate everything and see where we go from there.”
Ross led the Tigers in receiving yards with 1,000 in 2018, despite playing in a backup role behind Higgins at the nine-man spot for most of the year.
Clemson moved Ross around, playing him outside behind Higgins at times and in the slot at other times. When Ross was in the slot on the same side of the field as Higgins, it provided a matchup nightmare for defense.
Ross became more versatile as the 2018 season went along and he gained more experience, and Scott believes the sophomore is ready for more playing time and more touches next year.
“There’s no doubt about it. We’re obviously losing Hunter... and we’ve already kind of tinkered with that a little bit, just in some certain situations during the year,” Scott said of moving Ross around. “But I think it’s important to kind of bring him along at a certain pace.”
In addition to Ross, the Tigers have plenty of other talented receivers returning, including a pair of starters in Higgins and Amari Rodgers.
Higgins caught a team-high 59 passes for 936 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns in 2018, while Rodgers had 55 receptions for 575 yards and four scores.
Clemson also has another rising sophomore ready for more opportunities in Derion Kendrick, who caught 15 passes for 210 yards in 2018.
Diondre Overton, T.J. Chase and Cornell Powell will also be back in 2019 after providing depth at the receiver spot this past year. Scott loves the versatility that is currently in his receivers room.
“When you’re trying to put your wide receivers room together, you don’t want all nine guys to be 6-4 guys that are boundary receivers, and you don’t want all nine guys to be 5-11, kind of shiftier guys that can make plays in space,” Scott said. “You’re kind of looking for a good balance and different body types. I would say really the amount of skill at each one of those positions and the depth at each one of those positions is unique.”
This story was originally published January 25, 2019 at 7:40 AM.