Two Tigers make The Athletic's "Wait, they’re still playing college football?!" team

Xavier Thomas and Tyler Davis are both looking to make the most of an NCAA waiver to play another year at Clemson.

by TigerNet Staff - Tue Jun 27 13:54:09 GMT-04:00 2023

Clemson will have a veteran group leading the way on defense this season.

And that's come through changes in recent years to make up for some unusual circumstances, thanks to an NCAA waiver covering the 2020 pandemic-affected season.

Two Clemson defenders who would normally have expired their eligibility are back with defensive linemen Xavier Thomas and Tyler Davis, who each made The Athletic's list for the top waiver-using seniors ($).

"Remember in April when Clemson’s Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee both got picked in the first round? Their fellow linemen Thomas and Davis managed to predate them and outlast them. Thomas, who appeared on this list last year, was in the same recruiting class as Trevor Lawrence. Thomas twice has earned All-ACC honors but also has been plagued with injuries. Davis is a three-time All-ACC honoree and was a second-team All-America tackle last season," said Stewart Mandel.

Justin Mascoll was also named among the "key backups" for the preseason national team honors.

Thomas is a former 5-star prospect who was ranked as high as the No. 3 player overall in his class and the top defensive end. Around stints recovering from injury, Thomas has had early projections as a first-round NFL draft prospect and he seeks to return to that tier this season.

Thomas is credited with 116 career tackles (30.0 for loss), 14.5 sacks, five pass breakups, five forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 1,385 defensive snaps over 49 games (19 starts).

Davis is a former 4-star prospect who is credited with 122 tackles (26.0 for loss), 15.5 sacks, four pass breakups and three fumble recoveries in 1,551 snaps over 43 games (39 starts).

Mascoll is a former 4-star prospect who enters 2023 credited with 86 tackles (9.0 for loss), 2.0 sacks, four pass breakups and a fumble recovery in 1,131 career snaps over 53 games (13 starts).

Some notable other names on The Athletic list include JT Daniels, who played Clemson in the 2021 season opener with Georgia and is now at a second school since with Rice, as well as Syracuse QB Garrett Schrader, former Wake and now Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman, UNC seventh-year offensive lineman Corey Gaynor (All-ACC honorable mention last season), NC State linebacker Payton Wilson (sixth-year player) and South Carolina seventh-year defensive back DeAngelo Gibbs (former 4-star walk-on who enrolled first at Georgia and then Tennessee but hasn't played since 2018).