Clemson starting receiver out for at least Louisville game

Clemson will be without one of its top receivers Saturday afternoon against Louisville.

Sophomore wideout Beaux Collins will be unable to play against the Cardinals, Dabo Swinney announced.

Collins suffered a shoulder injury during the second half of Saturday’s loss to Notre Dame and did not return.

He had two catches for 18 yards prior to being injured.

“He’ll definitely be out this week,” Swinney said. “We’ll get a little better evaluation on him the first part of the week.”

Collins is third among Clemson receivers with 20 catches for 308 yards. He leads the Tigers with five touchdown receptions.

The California native has started all nine games for Clemson this season.

Collins missed time during fall camp in the preseason after suffering a shoulder injury, as well.

With Collins out, tight end Jake Briningstool and receivers Brannon Spector and E.J. Williams could get more opportunities in the passing game for the Tigers.

In addition to Collins, Swinney also provided an update on injured defensive end Xavier Thomas.

The senior missed Saturday’s game at Notre Dame after reinjuring his foot last week during practice.

“He reinjured his foot on Wednesday. Your heart breaks for him,” Swinney said. “He was going full speed [in practice] and tried to hurdle a guy. Kind of had a setback.”

Swinney is unsure when or if Thomas will be back this season.

“Still don’t have total clarification on Xavier Thomas yet,” Swinney said. “They’re still kind of consulting on what’s the long-term plan for him and what they’ve gotta do in the immediate.”

Thomas has appeared in three games this season and has a pair of sacks for Clemson.

He originally injured his foot during fall camp and missed the first five games of the season, before returning to play limited snaps at Boston College.

Thomas also played limited snaps against Florida State and Syracuse, but the plan was for him to ramp up his reps at Notre Dame.

That obviously didn’t happen as he suffered a setback in practice leading up to the game.

Clemson ended up falling to the Irish 35-14, suffering its first loss of the season.