Justyn Ross is not happy with the way he played in last week’s loss to Georgia. In fact, the Clemson wide receiver is mad.
That is the way head coach Dabo Swinney described him earlier this week, as the sixth-ranked Tigers prepare for Saturday’s home opener against S.C. State.
“He is locked in. He is mad,” Swinney said about his star wide receiver. “He was locked in before. He had great preparation. He had unbelievable practices. He was just very disappointed in himself. He has complete ownership of what he has to do, and you’ll see it. He will be fine. He is going to be just fine.”
In Clemson’s loss to the Bulldogs, Ross caught four passes for 26 yards. But the number of catches and lack of yards were not the issue.
In his first game back since missing all of last season with a spinal issue, Ross was off on some of his reads, including Chris Smith’s 74-yard interception return for what turned out to be Georgia’s game-winning touchdown.
Ross also made a couple of other mistakes, which cost Clemson in critical situations.
“Justyn did not have a good game. He did some good things, but it was not the standard we have for him, and he has for himself,” Swinney said. “That guy has not played in six hundred and something days. And again, for him, it would have been nice maybe to have a little different game to maybe go get your feet wet. It is what it is. It is not from a physical standpoint or anything like that, he just mentally had some critical errors.”
Swinney is not sure why Ross struggled against Georgia, mentally. The Clemson coach said there was a lot going on in the game, and maybe that threw his star player for a loop.
“I don’t know if it is game speed, or he just has not been in that type of mode. There is just a lot going on. It has been a long time,” the Clemson coach said. “Plus, who knows what he is dealing with. He, mentally, made mistakes he does not make. Physically, he is fine, but mentally, he made some critical errors. He has not done that in practice.
“I don’t know, he had one of them days. It happens. But he will bounce back. He is going to have a great year.”
The Tigers host S. C. State at 5 p.m., at Death Valley. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
