Swinney on Justyn Ross making Chiefs’ roster: “It just fills my heart with just joy” |
CLEMSON - A number of former Clemson football players made 2023 NFL rosters. However, one of those stories stands above all the rest with wide receiver
Justyn Ross. The Kansas City Chiefs awarded him a spot on their 53-man roster recently, which is remarkable given that many thought Ross’s career was over not long ago.
“It just fills my heart with just joy,” Swinney said. “This is one of the most talented kids we’ve had come through here, and I’ve never really been through anything like what all he had to deal with. Just unbelievable.” Ross started his Clemson career with a 1,000-yard season from 46 receptions; he also had nine touchdowns in his rookie season. In this second year, he continued to positively impact the Tigers’ receiving group, getting 66 receptions for 865 yards and another eight touchdowns. One hit in the spring of 2020 ultimately led to the discovery of something that went undetected throughout his entire football season. He was born with a rare condition called Klippel-Feil syndrome, meaning that he had a congenital fusion in his neck. Swinney still remembers that day when Ross was told he would never play football again. “I mean, I take myself back to the day that they walked in and said that he wasn’t going to play football anymore,” Swinney said. “I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ You know, and then finding out that he had this congenital fusion and, I mean, I know way more than I should know about all that stuff just because of walking through that with this kid and seeing the devastation.” Despite being told he would never play again, Ross refused to accept that reality. He eventually connected with Dr. David Okonkwo, the team neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as the director of the Neurotrauma Clinical Trials Center at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Okonkwo performed surgery on former Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, who was told he would never walk again. While he did not return to football, he did regain the ability to walk. Eventually, Okonkwo also performed surgery on Ross in June 2020, which allowed him to return to the game he loves. “If it wasn’t for Dr. Okonkwo, the doctor in Pittsburgh, he’s not on the 53-man for the Chiefs,” Swinney said. “It took one guy that really believed that he could. I’ll never forget the meeting with the doctor up there and Justyn and his mom … Dr. Okonkwo, he was like, ‘He may not play again, but I’m not quite ready to say that.’ And this guy laid out why and he said, ‘There’s no guarantees, but let’s just see.’ And it was, and so, we went through a little over a year journey with this kid not having any guarantees whether he would play another snap of football again, much less fulfill his dream of being a pro, and it was just, it was a tough journey.” That wasn’t the end of Ross’s ordeal, however. Shortly before beginning the 2021 season, with the season opener against the Georgia Bulldogs, Ross suffered a hairline fracture in his foot. But Ross played through this painful injury for ten weeks until his foot finally broke. “He’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached. He comes in here, and literally the Wednesday practice before the Georgia game, he gets a hairline fracture in his foot, and I thought he was going to be out for six or seven weeks,” Swinney said. “But he was like, ‘No. I’m playing.’ And they put a plate in his shoe, and the kid, he played ten games with a hairline fracture until it finally broke. And his last play was the epitome of Justyn Ross. It was against Connecticut. I think it was game 10, and man, he catches the ball over the middle, and I think everybody on the team hit him. I mean, literally, he wouldn’t go down.” His first two seasons were quite remarkable, and if he would have been able to continue his college career normally, there is not much of a question that he would have been a first-day draft pick. However, he never got that chance and instead went undrafted in 2022. Still, he kept working and was signed by the Chiefs. But he was forced to go on season-ending injured reserve (IR) when he reinjured his foot. Swinney actually believes that spending his first NFL season on IR helped Ross learn and grow more. “He had to sit another whole year, and it was really good for him to just, kind of, redshirt and year, and then, bam, he’s in a great place, and it’s just a joy. It’s one of the most joyful moments I’ve ever experienced in my life just seeing him,” Swinney said. “I actually went out to Kansas City in May and spent a day with coaches and watched them have an OTA practice. (I) got a chance to visit with Justyn a good bit. “And man, it, I’m so thankful for him, and I’m so happy for him that how long he plays football – what he was able to overcome and achieve, it’s miraculous, and he’s the first ever to play professional football with the situation that he has, and it’s an amazing story, and I’m just praying that he can truly show his full capabilities this year and get what he’s worked so hard for.” Now that he has made the official 53-man roster, Ross can show he is an elite wide receiver who can make a difference in the NFL. Kansas City starts its season in prime time, taking on the Detroit Lions on Thursday, September 7 (8:20 p.m./NBC).
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