Swinney: Ross Determined to Overcome Health Condition

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced on Monday that star receiver Justyn Ross will miss the 2020 season with a career-threatening injury. However, Swinney is hopeful that he will see Ross once again catching passes on a football field in the future.

Dabo Swinney had planned to address injury news on receiver Justyn Ross later in the week. 

But after deciding to hold a press conference to discuss the death of George Floyd and the events that have followed, the Clemson head coach went ahead and announced that Ross would miss the 2020 season with congenital fusion and require surgery.

Ross was injured after catching a pass in spring practice, and at first glance, it didn't appear to be anything serious. 

Ross has already accumulated 112 catches for 1,865 yards and 17 touchdowns over his first two seasons at Clemson. Losing such a talented wideout is a huge blow for a team that has national title aspirations in 2020.

"He caught a slant, nothing crazy, got hurt, went down, was slow to get up," Swinney said. "Had stinger symptoms and numbness, which isn't uncommon in football.

"Our doctors were great and he didn't practice the rest of the day. He was fine on the sidelines. To be honest, I didn't think that much about it. He was fine that night at dinner."

The next morning, however, Swinney was hit with the devastating news. It turns out that his star receiver's congenital fusion is a condition that he was born with, and no one knew about it.

"Doctors have done a wonderful job in trying to get the best information and the best path forward." — Dabo Swinney on Justyn Ross having surgery

The condition was found after Ross had an X-ray for the stinger. It is a condition that Ross has unknowingly played with his entire career. And while it has yet to impact him, fortunately for the junior receiver from Alabama, it was caught now, before something more serious happened down the line.

"The frustrating thing is, Justyn is great," Swinney said. "He can run, jump, do backflips, dunk a basketball. He's had no issues, but because of the X-ray it showed up."

Swinney said the team of doctors have worked hard to ensure they came up with the right plan. Ross will fly up to Pittsburgh on Thursday and have surgery on Friday that will be performed by one of the Pittsburgh Steelers team doctors. 

"Doctors have done a wonderful job in trying to get the best information and the best path forward," Swinney said. "Dr. (David) Okonkwo, who is one of the top neurosurgeons really in the country, he is the neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers and is one of the main NFL guys. But anyway, that's who has stepped up and really been great in this process for Justyn.

The football future for Ross is still up in the air. Swinney says the doctors are extremely optimistic about Ross being able to play again though but caution that there are no guarantees. 

"Dr. Okonkwo is positive, Swinney said. "And, you know, he thinks that there is a good path for Justyn to play football again. And he's excited about the challenge ahead of seeing that happen. Got a good plan ahead. There's no guarantees with anything certainly. Very hopeful that this surgery will go well and it will take him out of harm's way as far as, you know risk of paralysis or anything like that."

Justyn Ross

Swinney, however, is hopeful that by the time the calendar turns to 2021, Ross will be fully recovered and with a decision to make. Does he decide to forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the draft, or does he decide he wants to play one more season of college football?

For now, though, Swinney says Ross is in a good place, and ready to face this challenge head-on. He has the support system in place and insists he will do whatever necessary to give himself the best shot at getting back on the field. 

"Justyn's in a really good place," Swinney said. "You know, at first, the very beginning of it was a hard thing for all of us to kind of get our arms around. But his mom is amazing. He's got a wonderful support system around and Justyn is in a great place. Mentally, he's ready to do what he needs to do to give himself the best chance to play football again."