Within 15 minutes, little girls no older than 10 start arriving for their own after-school practice, and it becomes clear this field has been reserved specifically for them. Getting his route running back into top form is the immediate priority, and the grass on these particular fields is nearly perfect for the practice. ON A WINDY DAY a week before this year's NFL combine, Ross pulls into a sprawling soccer complex for some extra work with his personal coach, TJ Brown. "I'm not going to lie."ĭespite battling a foot injury, Justyn Ross returned to action in 2021 and showed the ability to still make plays. Now he was being told he might never put on a uniform again. After a strong sophomore campaign - 865 receiving yards and eight TDs - he seemed on a glide path to the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. Just two years earlier, Ross burst onto the scene in Clemson's College Football Playoff championship run, combining for 301 receiving yards and four touchdowns in blowout wins over Notre Dame and Alabama as a true freshman. It made no sense that it was no longer safe. He played football his entire life with this condition. Tears streamed down his face as Ross listened in disbelief. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, those with this condition should avoid activities that can injure the neck. The doctors told him he may never play football again. Kiper's updated Big Board for the 2022 NFL draft: Ranking the best prospects at every position.Though he had stingers in the past, this was the first time he had any scans on his neck and spine revealing the condition to both Ross and his mother for the first time. They told Ross he had a congenital fusion in his spine, a condition he was born with called Klippel-Feil syndrome. This was not an ordinary football stinger. Then the doctors started explaining what they saw on the scans. His mom, Charay Franklin, was on speakerphone. When Ross arrived, he saw the entire Clemson medical team sitting there, along with Swinney. Within a few days, Ross felt fine and was getting ready for practice when coach Dabo Swinney called and asked him to come to his office. Though he felt numbness and tingling in his arms as he lay on the practice field, Ross figured he just got a neck stinger and would be back to normal soon.Ĭlemson took Ross in for tests to his neck and spine, per team protocols. Only this time, in the spring of 2020, he did not see the linebacker coming, and the force of the collision sent Ross to the turf. FRISCO, Texas - The hit that changed everything came on a routine slant Justyn Ross had run hundreds of times.
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