Clemson football: Bold predictions for the 2022 season

Ngata will break through

I enjoy watching highlights on YouTube. If you haven’t watched this one of Joseph Ngata going over 100 yards receiving against Georgia last season, please watch it now. Or if you have seen it, watch it again.

Now remember how good that Georgia defense that lead the Bulldogs to a national championship was last year.

Remember how Clemson’s quarterback was impacted by the Bulldog defensive rush, and how the offensive line wasn’t able to do anything to stop it.

Remember how little the other receivers were able to get open.

Despite all that adversity, Ngata had about as good a night as a receiver could have. The man has talent. It’s always been there. It is reasonable to question if the dedication and preparation (physically and mentally) has always been there.

We all know Ngata’s biggest deficiency has been availability due to injuries. The phrase was coined by Bill Parcells, but Coach Swinney says it just as well:

"“Availability is the best ability.”"

Experience can be a wonderful and sometimes brutal teacher. Ngata was spoiled as a true freshman. He had Trevor Lawrence throwing him the ball, and Tee Higgins and a healthy Justyn Ross carrying the burden at receiver. Ngata didn’t have to be on the field taking the majority of snaps. The workload was lighter, and when he did get the call, he had one of the best quarterbacks in the game throwing him dimes.

Ngata has learned the hard way over the past two seasons that those days are in the past. He wasn’t ready for the physical aspect of being a main guy, and DJU isn’t T-Law.

The good news is Ngata isn’t oblivious to this, and he is working to change. He has adjusted his workout regimen and diet to improve his physical readiness. He is working with receivers coach Tyler Grisham to improve his mental readiness.

When we back up and ask what Ngata has been missing, it’s pretty clear what the problem has been: he hasn’t had a motor. He hasn’t been driven to push himself in the off-season and in practice to achieve at a higher level. He had to learn the hard way that nothing comes for free.

Ultimately, injuries can happen to even the most prepared athletes, so we will just need to keep our fingers crossed for Ngata, but we have reason to believe he is stepping up his physical and mental conditioning. It’s hard to put a statistical threshold on this prediction due to some of the other inconsistencies on offense, and the expectation that the run-game will be relied on heavily, but I think Ngata will be seen as an Offensive MVP candidate by the end of the season.