In the spring game, everyone got a flash of how good Joseph Ngata and Frank Ladson can be. The two freshmen receivers, who enrolled at Clemson in January, put on a show in front of 60,000 fans inside Memorial Stadium this past April.
Both caught a team-best five passes with Ngata leading the way with 127 yards, while Ladson was not too far behind with 102 yards.
“We feel great about them,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said.
They should feel great. Ngata and Ladson add to a receiving corps that was already considered one of the best in the country.
Clemson already has two of the most feared receivers in college football in Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross. Now it has two more guys who are almost mirror images of Higgins and Ross.
“Those guys are just what we hoped they would be,” head coach Dabo 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 from what I’ve seen from them this spring.”
Wide receiver Joseph Ngata(10) toes the sidelines as he pulls in a reception during Clemson’s spring game on April 6, 2019 at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. Above photo shows freshman Frank Ladson (2) hauling in a pass for the White team in the spring game. (photos by Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider)
At 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Ngata is a lot like Ross. He is already physically ready to take on college defensive backs in one-on-one situations.
Ladson is a lot like Higgins was as a freshman. He still needs to get bigger so he can become more physical, but at 6-foot-4 he has the ability to go up and get the ball and will be a factor in the offense. Ladson also has a burst of speed, especially when he gets the ball in space, that reminds his coaches of former Clemson great Sammy Watkins.
“We are not clicking with them as much as we are with Tee and Justyn right now, but that is just because they have not been here as long,” Lawrence said. “This summer is big for us, me and (Chase) Brice, just getting our timing and everything down. They are great players.
“You see that Frank and Joe and Tee and Justyn are all kind of similar guys. They are great. We are going to have a lot of depth and we will have a good group.”
Throw in Cornell Powell, Diondre Overton and T.J. Chase into the mix, who all had great springs, and perhaps Amari Rodgers, who appears to be ahead of schedule in his rehab from a torn ACL, and the Tigers’ talent at wide receiver seems to be endless.
Freshman Brannon Spector could also see playing time in the slot this fall.
“Y’all have heard me say many times — I’m not trying to keep a secret on those guys — they’re ready,” Swinney said. “They’re really, really talented players and very coachable. Just love to prepare, high-character guys, as is Spector. … He’s going to be an outstanding player.”