Clemson fans came to Saturday’s Orange & White Spring Game hoping to see Clemson’s talented freshmen Joseph Ngata and Frank Ladson make plays. They got what they wanted.

Ngata made a 70-yard catch-and-run for the Orange team on Saturday, while Ladson had a 42-yard catch for the White team in the White team’s 30-10 victory at Death Valley in Clemson.

“Y’all have heard me say many times — I’m not trying to keep a secret on those guys — they’re ready,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “They’re really, really talented players and very coachable. Just love to prepare, high-character guys, as is (Brannon) Spector. … He’s going to be an outstanding player.”

Ngata led all receivers with five catches for 127 yards, while Ladson was second with five catches as well for 102 yards. Neither players scored a touchdown on Saturday, but their big-play abilities flashed enough to get the 60,000 fans in attendance and the millions watching on ESPN2 back home excited about the future.

It’s just more of the same for a Clemson receiving corps that already houses Tee Higgins and last year’s national championship hero Justyn Ross.

Speaking of Ross, he had four catches for 75 yards for the White team. Higgins finished with five catches for 55 yards and scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence in the second quarter.

But the afternoon belonged to the freshmen, who on this day outshined their upper-class teammates.

“Those guys are just what we hoped they would be,” Swinney said. “Frank and Joseph are pretty elite as far as just where their starting point is. They’ve got a ways to go, but their starting point, it’s pretty impressive what I’ve seen from them this spring.”

On the defensive side, the fans came to see defensive tackle Tyler Davis. And though Davis played well, it was fellow freshman Sheridan Jones that stole the show. The defensive back led the White team with seven tackles, plus he returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“Sheridan’s feisty. He’s one of those kids that is just incredibly focused, whether it be academically, strength and conditioning, nutrition, learning the playbook… He’s a very focused young man, and he’s going to be a great player,” Swinney said. “He’s got to have a big summer in the weight room, but he plays big.

“Plays a lot bigger than he is. He’s got great size and he can run. Y’all saw him run — he went and ran Ngata down. He’s fast. But really proud of him.”