Commentary: No player more worthy of courage award than Clemson's Justyn Ross

Courageous is a word used too often in sports.

It doesn’t seem even the least bit appropriate to associate with a game. It should be reserved for first responders, military heroes and cancer survivors.

There is a postseason college football honor, however, with courage as part of the requirement. The Brian Piccolo Award, handed out in multiple conferences and in the NFL as well, is given to players who best represent the courageous attitude of Piccolo, a former Chicago Bears running back. He died in 1970 at age 26 of embryonal cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of testicular cancer. A tear-pulling movie about it, Brian’s Song, was made a year later.

There is not a more deserving winner of the Piccolo Award than Clemson wide receiver Justyn Ross, who was given the ACC honor earlier this week.

Justyn’s song induced some tears as well.

But it will have a happier ending.

Ross ran a pattern through a career-threatening health condition and possible permanent paralysis to emerge in the wide-open clear. His Clemson days appear to have ended recently with a fractured foot, but that is nothing in comparison to his previous comeback, and he is projected to be a high pick in the NFL draft.

In his first two seasons, Ross caught 112 passes for nearly 2,000 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. He was projected as a definite first-round selection in the pros. But in spring practice last year, Ross was diagnosed with a congenital fusion of his neck and spine, a condition that was likely there at birth but never discovered. He missed the entire 2020 season, thought he had to give it all up, but was finally cleared by all his doctors just a couple of weeks before the 2021 season kicked off.

“Justyn Ross is the epitome of the Brian Piccolo Award,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “This is a great, great player who went from being told he was never going to play football again to maybe there is a 50 percent chance and facing a 17-19 month grueling process. To see him come back and do the things that he did, …"

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Ross practiced with the Tigers for more than a year without knowing if he would ever be allowed to play again in college and without that, his NFL dreams were gone.

“You’re talking about a man who had a very serious decision to make about not just football but about his life,” Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said earlier this season. “To see a young person block out the noise and stay committed to his decision and go to work every single day inspires me. He’s kind of doing it the old-school way, but it’s the right way. Make a decision, stay committed to your decision, put everything you have into it and then let the cards fall where they fall.”

Ross is a special talent. He had a team-high 1,000 receiving yards and nine touchdowns as a freshman. The next season, he had a team-best 66 catches for 865 yards and eight more TDs. In the 2018 national championship game against Alabama, he had six grabs for 153 yards and 73-yard score on a throw from Trevor Lawrence.

NFL scouts were drooling.

Then came the injury during spring practice. At first, it seemed like nothing to worry much about. But that was not the case.

“One of the worst days I’ve experienced as a coach,” Swinney said, “was being there when the doctors told him what was going on and telling him that he may never play again. And one of the best days I’ve had as a coach was seeing him take the field again for the Tigers and seeing him get that first diving catch. I’m really proud of him and thankful that I had a chance to be part of his journey.”

Ross led Clemson during this regular season with a modest 46 catches (18 more than next-best), 514 yards (127 more than next-best) and three touchdowns despite missing the past two games. It’s not much when compared to his first two seasons.

He never looked like his previous self. He didn't have that same explosiveness. And there was a reason. That fracture in his foot happened in preseason. He played with it as long as he could. After all he had been through, something like a broken bone wasn’t going to keep him out.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Nobody deserves courage award more than Clemson's Justyn Ross