Swinney confirms the news: Justyn Ross cleared to play this season

Swinney points at Ross during spring practice.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Aug 06 15:24:37 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney confirmed Friday that wide receiver Justyn Ross has been medically cleared to return to full football activities and will play this season.

Ross missed all of 2020 after a congenital fusion issue was found in his neck. He had surgery last year to correct the condition but had been practicing in a limited fashion with the team since last fall. Ross will be limited no more.

"Justyn Ross has been cleared to play football. It’s been unbelievable watching his journey," Swinney said. "I am thankful for the support he had and he put in the work. The doctors cleared him and we got the final paperwork that you have to have done. Unfortunately, we won’t get to see him practice today because he is in COVID protocol. He waited 18 months to get to this point and he will join us next Friday."

Wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham told TigerNet two weeks ago that Ross turned into his group’s leader during his absence from the field.

“I'll first say that Justyn's done a phenomenal job as a leader. What we do as a staff, as we head into spring, we have our guys kind of vote on who's the most all-in offensive players,” Grisham said. “And we also kind of call out some guys that maybe aren't all-in. Throw their names up there and hold them accountable. And that's an important part, too, but Justyn had the most all-in votes for the wide receiver group and Will Swinney's right behind him. But Justyn is seen as a leader. And that was heading into spring, and that's coming off of a year of not playing, and not being in wide receiver meetings often. He's doing rehab and trying to recover. And so, coming off of that, he still was seen as a leader.

“And the feedback I've gotten this summer from the strength staff is that, even more so, he's seen as a leader. He's taken leaps and bounds in that area. He's kind of always been a quiet guy. Just always been a freak athlete. Did his thing and made plays. But with a guy like Amari Rodgers and Cornell Powell gone, he's had to step into that role of the leader, of the lone senior. Obviously, Will Swinney's involved in that, too. And we are counting on Will a lot to lead, and he has done so this summer.”

Grisham said that Ross will play all over the field, not just the slot, this fall.

“He’s done a phenomenal job as a leader, worked his tail off in the weight room, and really bought in more so in the weight room. So he's ready to go,” Grisham said. “I believe that when he gets that word that he is clear, he's going to be ready to go and be confident and able to help us. And I think talking about his play, we're going to play him in the slot, but we're going to play him in the boundary. We're going to play into the field. I mean, you name it, we're going to put him where he needs to be to be successful, where he needs to be to help us as an offense because he can do so much. He's a 6'4" guy, but can run around like he's a six-footer. And that's what makes him so dynamic and so exciting to have on the roster because he can do so many things.”