Ladson survived The Hill

CLEMSON — What is going through a true freshman's mind as the buses round the corner of Death Valley and approach 80,000 rabid fans, The Hill and The Rock. For true freshman Frank Ladson Jr. there was one thing on his mind — don't fall.

Earlier this week, his teammate and fellow wide receiver, junior Tee Higgins, called out the true freshman as his pick to fall down the hill in Thursday night's opening game against Georgia Tech.

"He did. I don't know why he did that," Ladson said. "He made me paranoid running down the hill today. So, I didn't really want to run down too fast. I took it easy."

However, Ladson's excitement did not end there.

In fact, it carried over into the special teams — as he watched fellow true freshman Joe Ngata receive the opening kickoff of the 2019 season.

"We all were just on the sidelines screaming in the first minutes," Ladson said. "We were just so excited, especially when Jay-Lay (Jaylen Lay) got out there. I was screaming when Joe got the first kick return. Just excited, real excited. Lannden (Zanders), Sheridan Jones, Jalyn Phillips — all those guys out there running on kickoff. It was real exciting because we have been talking about this since when we first started getting recruited. That group chat was talking about moments like this...we were just blessed to be out there."

Ladson had his own special moment in the fourth quarter, as he recorded a 21-yard touchdown reception on the first catch of his career. The touchdown was thrown by Chase Brice, his first passing touchdown since Nov. 3, 2018, against Louisville.

That touchdown meant even more for Ladson considering he missed two weeks of fall camp and his status for the opening game was questionable after having his knee scoped.

“It felt great, especially after missing most of fall camp with my knee and everything," Ladson said. "It felt good just to get out there with my team. Those guys just kept encouraging me all fall when I was out.

"I knew there was a chance I wouldn't (be able to play), but I was determined to come back. I was ready to play."

Ladson knew that he would have an opportunity to record the first touchdown by a true freshman in the 2019 season. On the first play of the fourth quarter, following a television timeout, the coaching staff let Ladson know that they wanted to try to put the final nail in the Yellow Jackets' coffin.

And that is exactly what Ladson did.

"The offensive line did a great job and Chase threw a great ball," Ladson said. "We had been running the ball down the field and Coach Swinney, Coach Scott and Coach Elliott decided to take a shot. I knew that it was my opportunity and Coach Scott had been preaching all week that, when your opportunity comes, you have to make the most of it, and that is what I did. It felt great to be out there with my team.”

With his first game in Death Valley under his belt, Ladson and the rest of the Tigers will now turn their attention to the 11th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, who travel to Death Valley next Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC) for a nationally televised top 15 matchup.

"I'm real excited," Ladson said. "I'm ready to prepare for it. I know our coaches will have us ready for it." "