With all the talk about Clemson freshmen, don't forget Xavier Thomas

CLEMSON — Several freshmen on the Clemson defensive line are generating buzz this spring, and for good reason.

Peter Woods, TJ Parker and the rest of the group have been very impressive early on in their college careers.

But while there’s plenty of reason to be excited about the Tigers’ freshman class, it’s also important to not forget about returning players.

One of those who could be primed for a big year is sixth-year senior Xavier Thomas. The former five-star recruit isn’t currently practicing as he recovers from foot surgery, but Clemson defensive ends coach Lemansk Hall still loves what he’s seen from Thomas.

“Just been a vocal guy in my meetings, on the field. I’m asking him questions — ‘What did you see? How can you encourage these guys?’ That’s a different XT,” Hall said. “He’s never been that guy before. That’s encouraging for me, as a position coach, knowing that I’m preaching that message, but I’ve got one of my guys that’s right there encouraging the players. And that’s what we’ve got to have.”

It appeared as though Thomas was primed for a strong 2022 season, but he suffered a broken foot last August and for all intents and purposes it ended his season.

Thomas returned in the middle of the year and played three games in a limited role, before re-injuring his foot and being shut down for the season.

Thomas considered turning pro, before ultimately choosing to return to Clemson for a sixth season. Hall believes that was the right choice.

“XT needed to come back — if you’ve been injured and you haven’t done the things that he wanted to do from a football standpoint. We talk about his draft stock wasn’t where it needed to be. Now he gets a chance to come back and hopefully stay healthy and prove that he deserves to be one of those top guys,” Hall said. “Knowing that I’m going to have an opportunity to get X back, and then [Justin] Mascoll, that’s good.”

Thomas enters his sixth season with 116 career tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks. He recorded a pair of sacks in 52 snaps last season.

The Florence native excels as a pass rusher but Hall says there are ways he can improve entering his final year.

“XT has always been an explosive guy. I think for him it’s just been details and things that we ask him to do… understanding being physical at the point of attack. Complete his pass rush. Get some tools in his pass rush game,” Hall said. “If he’s able to do that, and we saw the two games he played last year and he was lights out. He’s dialed in on what it’s going to take. His body looks amazing. So we’ve just got to keep him healthy. If that happens, he could tear this place up and be really, really good. And that’s what we’re looking for.”