Clemson Football: 5 takeaways from national title-winning 2018 season

4 of 5

SANTA CLARA, CA – JANUARY 07: Justyn Ross #8 of the Clemson Tigers makes a catch against Josh Jobe #28 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the third quarter in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi’s Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

2. Justyn Ross is going to be a star

As if Clemson didn’t already have enough talented freshman, add wide receiver Justyn Ross to the mix of current and future stars for the Tigers. Ross had 46 catches for 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns for the Tigers this season but his best performance was easily against the Crimson Tide. Ross had six catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. That followed an elite performance against Notre Dame in the Playoff, where Ross had six catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

Ross broke free in the third quarter against Alabama for the game-icing play, a 74-yard touchdown play in which he put one Alabama defender on skates and out ran the rest. Against Notre Dame, he scored twice — one from 42 and one from 52 — to break the game open in the second quarter.

Ross was the No. 1 ranked player in the state of Alabama in the 2018 recruiting class and chose Clemson over Alabama in a shocking decision. A four-start recruit, Ross had offers from every school but chose the Tigers because of the culture. Now he’s set to be the next great Clemson wide receiver. Teamed up with Lawrence for the next two years at least, Ross has a chance to terrorize the rest of college football.

Home/Clemson Tigers