Ajou Ajou Proving How 'Little Things' Matter at Clemson
When you see Ajou Ajou on the field, there's nothing not to like about his game.
At first glance, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound sophomore receiver looks like a surefire NFL prospect. The Canadian sensation glides on turf. His range is seemingly limitless, and he appears to be as gifted as all the other receivers out there.
So why when the coaching staff discusses the hierarchy at one of the most talented positions on the roster does Ajou's name not roll off their tongues like Justyn Ross or Joseph Ngata?
"If he's not mentioned, it's not because he's not making a play," Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said. "It's just he consistently is not making the plays that he should make, and once he figures it out and says, 'You know what? I'm gonna make every aspect of my life as important as football is,' guess what? Football is going to elevate."
Clemson has shown time and time again under the ultra-successful Dabo Swinney program that it takes owning all aspects of student-athlete life to make your mark in football. Getting talent hasn't been an issue for the Tigers. In fact, they're getting more now than ever with back-to-back top-5 recruiting classes.
To make it at a place like Clemson, though, it takes more than great size and ability.
"You don't want to be on time, you don't want to do the little things, you don't want to take care of your body...your football is going to suffer," Elliott said. "I don't care how much you love it, how hard you work at it, you are who you are. So whatever you're struggling with over there, if you don't attack it, you don't turn it into a strength...it's going to show up as a weakness in football."
That isn't just a lesson for Ajou. It's something the coaching staff preaches to all its players. As for the talented receiver, he still has time to figure it out. After all, it took Cornell Powell four years to get those things down, and once his consistency took hold, he became one of the offense's best weapons as a fifth-year senior in 2020. Now, he's got a legit shot at being selected in the first four rounds of the NFL draft next month.
"We all know, having done this for a while, you're dealing with college guys and having experience, you know when (Ajou's) more consistent with the little things, you know off the field, then it's going to transition to the field," Elliott said. "For him, it's not the big things. Man, the guy can run, jump, he can make every catch. He's physical, he's gotten even bigger. It's just the consistency to be able to do that play in and play out and that's where he has to grow up."
Ajou was brought in as a project, and he showed with his two catches in 2020 how raw and far he has to go, but a year into the system, coaches will expect more out of him. He has the attributes to earn more playing time, and now the ball is in his court.
"Ajou has made some improvements as a football," Swinney said. "He's got some growing up to do in other areas, but he's made improvements. I'm encouraged with that."
