The 2021 Clemson football season-opener is less than 100 days from now and the Tigers are currently going through summer workouts and preparing for what they hope will be another run to the CFB Playoff and potential National Championship.
After losing a major piece for the entire 2020 season, the expectation is that Clemson football will have standout WR Justyn Ross back in the fold for 2021.
Ross had spinal surgery last spring and has been rehabbing the injury since. He has made the long road to recovery and is set to have a final meeting with his doctor in Pittsburgh where he hopes to get full-clearance to resume football activities at 100 percent.
CFB Kings recently posted an interesting thread of the uncanny similarities that Ross has with former Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Former Alabama WR Amari Cooper and Clemson WR Justyn Ross had EXTREMELY similar starts to their collegiate careers.
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) May 28, 2021
Check out some of the similarities in the thread below.@AmariCooper9 @_jross8 pic.twitter.com/qF6QaeSCWJ
Both shined in the national championship game as freshmen.
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) May 28, 2021
Ross - 6 rec, 153 yards, TD
Cooper - 6 rec, 105 yards, 2 TDs
Both were 1st on their team, but 5th in their conference in receiving their freshman year.
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) May 28, 2021
Ross - 1,000 yards, 1st on Clemson, 5th in the ACC in 2018.
Cooper - 1,000 yards, 1st on Alabama, 5th in the SEC in 2012.
In Cooper’s third season, he had 1,727 receiving yards, 16 TDs, won the Biletnikoff award, and finished 3rd in Heisman Voting.
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) May 28, 2021
This upcoming year is Ross’s third season, and if his similarities with Cooper are any indication, he’s likely in for a big one.
Cooper went on to be the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and if there’s any indication that these similarities will continue, Ross has a chance to have a special junior year.
Clemson football is in for a big season if Justyn Ross is able to return at full-strength
The similarities to Cooper in terms of statistics and accomplishments are intriguing to say the least, but comparisons or not, everyone knows that Clemson is in for a big season if Ross is able to return at full-strength.
Coming into the 2020 season prior to his injury, Ross was considered by many to be the most dominant boundary wide receiver in the nation and it’s hard to argue against that.
With D.J. Uiagalelei at the helm and how we believe the Tigers are going to run a little faster-tempo offense with a bigger emphasis on the passing game, there’s nothing to stop Ross from putting up some insane numbers- going over that 1,000 yard mark- and putting his name in the hat for first-team All-American.
We all know that he has the potential to be a top-10 pick at the next level and we believe that we’ll see just that from him this season.