Clemson duos at WR, CB ranked in top-10 by national outlet

Joseph Ngata is a former 5-star prospect who could breakout in 2021.

by TigerNet Staff - Wed Jul 14 15:00:07 GMT-04:00 2021

Clemson has quite the arrangement of talent going into the 2021 season.

Boiled down to the top pair of players at a position, the Tigers grade well according to Pro Football Focus at wide receiver and cornerback.

PFF's Anthony Treash says Justyn Ross and Joe Ngata, who are both looking to bounce back from injury, are second nationally only to Ohio State's Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.

"Ross established himself as one of the best deep threats in college football prior to 2020," Treash said, "coming away with the third-most touchdowns on targets of 20-plus yards in 2018 and 2019 (11). His 6-foot-4 frame comes in clutch on those passes, as he often bodies defensive backs in contested situations. Ross has hauled in nine of 13 such deep targets in his career.

"Ngata also fits the Clemson big-bodied receiving threat mold at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. He was tasked with an extraordinarily high rate of press coverage as a true freshman in 2019. Nearly 53% of his routes in 2019 came against press coverage — the sixth-highest rate in the Power Five — and yet, he still was near the 80th percentile among that group in per-route production on those reps, averaging 1.91 yards per route. He can climb the ladder on anyone and somewhat resembles former teammate and current Cincinnati Bengal Tee Higgins."

Clemson's opener is the next on the list against Georgia in Charlotte come Sept. 4, where LSU transfer Arik Gilbert almost singlehandedly garners the ranking.

"The 6-foot-5, 249-pounder is an elite athlete, possesses a massive catch radius and has some craftiness as a route-runner and after the catch," PFF analyzed. "He hauled in seven of his 13 contested targets and broke nine tackles on 35 receptions in 2020. He ran 33 routes on the outside for LSU last season, picking up eight receptions for 85 yards."

Divisional foe Wake Forest is fourth on the list with Jaquarii Roberson and Donavon Greene.

At cornerback, Andrew Booth Jr. largely carries a No. 9-ranked duo nationally with Mario Goodrich and Sheridan Jones top candidates to start oppposite him.

"Derion Kendrick may now be a Georgia Bulldog, but the Clemson Tigers are still well equipped at cornerback," PFF analyzed. "The group is led by 2019 five-star recruit Andrew Booth Jr., who made some highlight-reel plays on the ball in 2020. After a so-so debut in which he gave up two catches for 67 yards, Booth was lights out the rest of the way, allowing just 93 yards on 174 coverage snaps in his last 10 games. He could challenge North Carolina’s Storm Duck for the title of top cornerback in the ACC in 2021."

Among scheduled opponents, Pittsburgh is one spot ahead of the Tigers with Marquis Williams and Damarri Mathis.