Back home at Miami (and finally healthy), Frank Ladson Jr. is finding new life with Canes
The path was all laid out for Frank Ladson Jr. when he officially became a Clemson Tiger in 2019: He was, at one point, a five-star wide receiver; at the time, no one was better at getting wide receivers to the NFL than Clemson; Ladson had all the makings of the next.
It didn’t work out quite so smoothly. After a promising debut season with three touchdowns in limited action, Ladson missed most of training camp in Year 2 because of COVID-19, then hurt his hip, and then needed two surgeries for sports hernias in 2020 and 2021. He needed a fresh start and a return home to South Florida, to play for the Miami Hurricanes, is breathing new life into his tumultuous career.
“He deserves the praise he has received,” coach Mario Cristobal said Monday. “Local guy, really coming into his own.”
In each of the last three games, Ladson has nabbed at least five catches and gone for at least 58 yards, emerging as one of quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s new favorite targets after a rash of injuries at wide receiver.
In his first three games at Miami, Ladson had just two catches for 22 yards — all against the FCS Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. It took a little while, but Ladson is finally playing like the receiver the Hurricanes (3-3, 1-1) hoped they were getting when he decided to transfer back home in January.
“It’s been great, especially in the locker room,” said Ladson, who played at Homestead South Dade with cornerbacks Tyrique Stevenson and DJ Ivey. “A lot of those guys in the locker room I either played with in high school or played against, so it’s been great, really just a real family atmosphere.”
When Ladson made his original college choice back in 2018, his decision mostly came down to two schools. He could either stay in home in Miami-Dade County and try to help the Hurricanes become a contender again or he would go up to South Carolina to play with Trevor Lawrence, now the quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and his Tigers.
Clemson, ultimately, was impossible to turn down and the early days of his career made it look like the right decision. As a freshman, he looked like a rising star, catching nine passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns, and playing in the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship. In Year 2, he doubled most of his production, catching 18 passes for 281 yards and three more touchdowns despite battling injuries.
The 2021 college football season, however, was cursed for the 6-foot-3, 2015-pound wideout. Ladson only got to play in five games before a sports hernia ended his season. He graduated at the end of the year and decided to move on.
“It was time to come home,” he said.
Now a junior, Ladson should be hitting his peak, and it might finally be coming. His 21 catches are already a career high, and his 215 receiving yards and one touchdown put him in excellent position to set career marks in those categories, too — especially since Van Dyke has come to trust him as much as any of his weapons in the last month.
When wide receiver Xavier Restrepo went down with a foot injury last month, it left a major void in the passing game and Ladson’s 19 targets in the last three games lead Miami — and tight end Will Mallory, the player with the second most, is questionable to play Saturday when the Hurricanes face the Duke Blue Devils at 12:30 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
“Frank has done really well for us,” offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said Monday. “We’re going to need more from him.”
Finally healthy, he feels ready to provide it.
When he got to Miami in the winter, Ladson said he felt he was close to 100 percent, but he really started feeling good after the spring, and his rare blend of size and speed helped him earn a spot in the Hurricanes’ rotation at the start of the season.
Lately, Ladson has started to emerge as a different type of receiver, though. With Restrepo out, Van Dyke was looking for a reliable possession target in the middle of the field and Ladson has given him one, making most of his catches on slants and short post routes.
It’s valuable, but it’s also not making full use of Ladson’s physical gifts. There’s another level left for him to unlock and everyone knows it.
“We have to win 1-on-1 battles, win those competitive catches, those deep opportunities,” Gattis said. ”We’re going to need that.”
