Dabo Swinney superstitiously gushes about Joseph Ngata

When Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was asked about senior receiver Joseph Ngata heading into fall camp, he used four simple words.

“Maturity, commitment, focus, health,” Swinney said.

Last season was a season riddled with injury for the Tigers, and Ngata was not excluded from that as he missed four games for Clemson last year. His career has been riddled with injury as he spent the majority of the 2020 season battling an injury as well, but he fought through it all and enters Tiger’s camp as a leader of the team looking to have a breakout senior season.

Swinney continued to gush over his veteran wideout while knocking on wood furiously as to not jinx his progress on and off the field.

“He’s really been unbelievable, I don’t even know how else to say it,. He’s been amazing, he’s become one of the best leaders on the team, one of the most respected guys. This guy has grinded all spring, and he really has played very little in two years, spots here and there, he’s been through a lot,” Swinney said. “But guess what, he’s survived it and he’s through it. We all get curveballs right, you ain’t gotta hit the curveball, you’ve just gotta get a piece of it, stay alive, and he’s stayed alive and here he is.”

Ngata only saw action in nine games last season for the Tigers, but still ranked second on the team in receiving yards and fourth in receptions. The only players who had more receptions than him were Justyn Ross (who is now in the NFL), Beaux Collins (who burst on the scene late last year in his freshman season), and tight end Davis Allen.

If Ngata can stay healthy, it’s his turn to be the number one receiving threat for the Tigers out wide, and Swinney believes that if he’s on the field this season that he’ll make it happen.

“It’s going to happen, if he’s out on the field, it’s going to happen, he is unbelievably talented, and I know I’ve talked a lot about Ngata, but again he’s got to go do it, but if he can stay the course where he’s at he’ll have a great year,” Swinney said.

Swinney has been giving some of his players some high praise this season, most notably his defense of quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. But if Uiagalelei and Ngata can live up to the hype of their head coach, the duo could be one of the most dangerous in the conference and possibly the country this season.