Clemson football: Xavier Thomas is about to set the nation on fire

The Clemson football team is currently going through fall camp in preparation for the upcoming season and there are plenty of good returns coming out of the practices thus far.

One of the biggest and brightest Clemson standouts discussed has been DE Xavier Thomas.

Following a successful freshman season, Thomas suffered injuries and got out of his playing weight during his sophomore year. Heading into last season, Thomas had a bout with COVID and strep throat that caused him to be out of football shape and he was not able to get back to full strength before the end of the season.

Thomas could’ve gone ahead to the NFL Draft, but decided to take this offseason to transform his body. He was up to 294 pounds at one point and he is now down 264 pounds, his ideal playing weight.

Dabo Swinney had nothing but praise for his senior defensive end.

"“Somebody probably would have drafted him, but it wouldn’t have been anywhere near what he’s capable of, and so you talk about a guy I’m super proud of; I mean, that guy was 294 pounds at his peak, if you will,” Swinney said. “He’s 264 (now). It’s incredible, and he’s been incredibly focused since January. I know he’s really proud of himself and what a difference a year makes for that young man. I think that will serve him well for the rest of his life.”"

Xavier Thomas is about to set the nation on fire during this 2021 Clemson football season

Clemson football fans have been excited about Xavier Thomas since he arrived on-campus, but other than glimpses, we’ve never seen him reach his full potential.

The truth of the matter, though, is that Thomas has shown a different type of focus this offseason. He completely sold out to getting into the best shape of his life and refining his craft in a way we simply haven’t seen before.

The result? He’s going to absolutely wreak havoc on opposing offenses. 

If you go back and watch last season– when Thomas was playing at 280+ pounds– and watch the pass-rush, what you’ll see is that he still was one of the fastest and most explosive off-the-ball. He couldn’t play a lot of reps, but he still found a way to get in the backfield and that was him playing at 20+ pounds more than what he’s going to play at this season.

Perhaps it’s just hype, but there has never been any doubting Xavier Thomas’s skill set and now that he has finally had an offseason to push himself as hard as possible, I believe you’re going to see a different level of defensive end when he takes the field.