NEW ORLEANS — Tee Higgins has avoided the questions as if he were eluding a linebacker while going over the middle.
He hasn’t talked much about the injury that sidelined him for most of the first half of Clemson’s Fiesta Bowl victory over Ohio State, dismissing it as “soreness” and getting “banged up.” The game-breaking junior wide receiver has touched on his performance, though, and while his Tigers prevailed, he remains disappointed in his play and that of his fellow receivers.
“Last game, we really didn’t go out there and play to the best of our ability,” Higgins said this week. “We got to play better. We dropped balls. Didn’t get good releases. … We definitely got to be more physical at the point of attack and go out there and catch more balls.”
The 6-foot-4 Higgins caught four passes for 33 yards. Justyn Ross had six receptions for 47 yards. Amari Rodgers had one catch for 38 yards. It was the first game this season in which each of the trio was held to under 50 yards through the air.
“I was telling them this week that there should never be a secondary that holds all three of us under 50 yards,” Rodgers said, according to 247Sports.com. “I just told them that we have to make up for it this game. Every day in practice, I’ve been pushing them, and we’ve been pushing each other, so we can make those plays in the game.”
A healthy Higgins, a projected first-round pick if he opts to bypass his final year of eligibility, would be a good start. On Clemson’s first drive of the game, Higgins was going for a pass when his helmet got knocked off. As Higgins and Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah fell to the turf, Okudah’s helmet collided with Higgins’ head. He didn’t return until the second half and didn’t look like himself, failing to make an impact against Ohio State’s highly regarded secondary.
Clemson still prevailed, in large part because of its defense’s ability to limit Ohio State to field goals and quarterback Trevor Lawrence running for a career-best 107 yards. Higgins has been practicing fully, so whatever the injury was, it seems to be in the past.
Higgins, tied for the Clemson all-time lead in touchdown catches (27) with Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins, is coming off a stellar season, catching 56 passes for career-highs of 1,115 yards and 13 touchdowns. He averaged 19.9 yards per reception and was the MVP of the ACC Championship game. He was a difference-maker in last year’s playoff, scoring two touchdowns to go with seven receptions for 134 yards, but was unable to match that production against Ohio State.
He’ll get another chance Monday night against LSU. If the stakes aren’t already high enough, Higgins has the Fiesta Bowl as added motivation and another big matchup in front of him, this time against LSU freshman cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., a consensus All-American.
“I just got to go out there and be me,” Higgins said.
