Ngata takes his inspiration in strong start from Justyn Ross

Ngata caught six passes against the Bulldogs.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Sep 10 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – Joseph Ngata has battled injuries during his first two years on campus and suffered another slight setback during August camp. However, when the lights came on Saturday night against Georgia, Ngata looked to a teammate for inspiration and turned in the best game of his career. .

Ngata caught a career-high six passes for a career-high 110 yards against the Bulldogs, and more than one of his catches were of the highlight-reel variety. Those catches were because Ngata found himself unusually focused.

“Some of the catches I made in camp were like that, but I told myself before the game to focus,” Ngata said earlier this week. “I feel like a lot of those catches were just because of focus. It was a blessing to just be out there and it goes with all of the hard work I've been putting in. It was a big struggle (the injuries) but nevertheless, I can't complain. It taught me to be patient and to work harder. It was a good lesson to learn.”

Ngata said he drew his inspiration from teammate and fellow wide receiver Justyn Ross, who missed all of last season after surgery on his neck.

“It was very frustrating but the one person that gave me the most inspiration over the last year was Justyn,” Ngata said. “Just seeing Justyn's situation and knowing that he might not be able to play ever again gave me hope (seeing how Ross handled it). Not everything is going to go your way, but you have to keep working at it. Every drive and every play and you have to keep giving it your all. You have to keep working, no matter what. Just give it your all on every play.”

Head coach Dabo Swinney said he has been impressed with what he’s seen out of Ngata, who entered the season credited with 24 receptions for 323 yards and three receiving touchdowns in 426 snaps over 22 games (three starts).

“He’s good,” Swinney said. “He hadn’t really played since his freshman year. He had a few plays here and there last year, that was about it. That’s what I saw his freshman year backing up Tee (Higgins) and I’m like, ‘Man, this guy’s about to be a dang superstar,’ and then last year was what it was.

“He came in early part of camp and tweaked his hamstring again and missed some practice, but the last probably 12 days of practice before the Georgia game, he was awesome. I mean, practicing, every rep was a game rep and so he just carried it right to the game field. It was great to see and great for his confidence. He made some huge plays for us.”