A former Clemson star wide receiver isn’t surprised at all by Tee Higgins’ success last season — or what the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver has accomplished in his first two NFL campaigns since being selected by the franchise in the second round (33rd overall pick) of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Former Tiger wideout Justyn Ross said recently on Tailgate: An NFL, Draft & College Football Podcast with Pro Football Focus’s Austin Gayle and Mike Renner, that he expected Higgins to put up the kind of numbers and production he has thus far in his NFL career, during which he’s tallied a total of 141 catches for 1,999 yards and 12 touchdowns in two regular seasons.
Higgins racked up 74 receptions for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns during the regular season in 2021 before adding 18 catches for 309 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the Bengals’ Super Bowl run — including his 100-yard receiving, two-score performance against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.
Ross, of course, played with Higgins at Clemson in 2018 and 2019.
“Tee, that’s my brother, man,” Ross said. “We’ve been through a lot together. … I expected everything. I expected him to do everything that he did in the last two seasons that he had, because he’s just that kind of athlete and that type of football player.”
As for Ross himself, he hopes to make a similar type of substantial impact in the NFL now that he has moved on from a memorable Clemson career and is preparing for the 2022 NFL Draft.
After playing a starring role in Clemson’s 2018 national championship victory over Alabama, Ross missed the 2020 season following surgery in the spring and then made an inspiring comeback from the career-threatening spinal condition, returning to the field in 2021 to record team highs in receptions (46) and receiving yards (514) while adding three receiving touchdowns over 471 snaps in 10 games (all starts).
The Chargers’ Keenan Allen, Cowboys’ Amari Cooper and Packers’ Davante Adams are three receivers that Ross patterns his game after and aspires to be like at the next level.
“I’d say somebody that I try to model my game after is probably like Keenan Allen,” he said. “Keenan, Amari Cooper, and probably Davante.”
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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