Rejuvenated Xavier Thomas is one of players who will define Clemson's 2022 season

Xavier Thomas is looking forward to the 2022 season.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jun 29 08:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

The ACC Kickoff is now just three weeks away and we continue to look at the players who will define the 2022 football season for the Tigers. The third installment is defensive end Xavier Thomas, who has a lot to prove to himself, the rest of the ACC, and the NFL in his final season.

Thomas, following a season in which he had COVID and put on too much weight, made third-team All-ACC last year and was projected as a third-round NFL draft pick. He played in 12 games and tallied 21 tackles, including 3 1/2 sacks and 5 1/2 tackles for loss. Thomas registered a team-high 17 quarterback hurries and forced two fumbles.

"That was just an average year, in my opinion," Thomas said. "There were a lot of plays that I feel like I left out there and I really didn't finish the way I wanted to. That's the reason they were just pressures and not sacks. There's a lot of small details on it that I'm working on this year as far as get-off, my hands and things like that. Everything plays into it."

Thomas had the chance to turn pro, but told head coach Dabo Swinney that he wanted to return for a final season. He still had a lot to prove.

“The first part of the season, my mind was on it, but the second half I was getting to the point where I was kind of second guessing it and then realized what I really wanted to do,” Thomas said.

Thomas did a lot of soul searching, and finally reached out to let Swinney know his decision to return. He also asked Swinney to keep it quiet, wanting to surprise his teammates at the football banquet that marks the end of the season.

“He was going into the (transfer) portal and stuff like that, I didn’t want him to replace me,” Thomas said of Swinney. “I had to let him know. It was definitely hard (keeping it quiet) because I had people asking me every single day because I did not make an announcement.”

Thomas provides valuable depth at the end spot, where the Tigers have four veterans – Thomas, Myles Murphy, KJ Henry, and Justin Mascoll. If Thomas has the type of year he envisions – and that he’s capable of having – it will ease the double-teams on Murphy and could lead to double-digit sack totals.

“Nobody has seen what I am capable of, and that is what I really want to show this year,” Thomas said.

“Last year, I was coming off that terrible 2020 year, where I was overweight and things like that, but now I have a whole different level of confidence and things I want to do. So, I basically know everything I have to do. I have it all planned out. Now, I just have to go and get it. I know what I have in the tank. I know what I can do.”

Thomas is confident it will happen.

"You'll see," he said. "Just wait. You'll see."

Xavier Thomas bio

*Explosive edge rusher who made an immediate impact as a reserve in 2018, earning near-unanimous Freshman All-American acclaim … multi-time all-conference selection … enters 2022 credited with 112 career tackles (27.5 for loss), 12.5 sacks, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 1,333 snaps over 46 games (19 starts).

2021: Third-team All-ACC selection … also added all-conference honors from PFF (second team) and Phil Steele (fourth team) … credited with 27 tackles (5.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup in 476 snaps over 12 games (10 starts) … credited with a team-high 17 quarterback pressures … recorded one tackle and a pass breakup vs. No. 5 Georgia … added two tackles vs. SC State … credited with one tackle —a half-sack — vs. Georgia Tech … recorded a career-high 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble among his five tackles at NC State … contributed three tackles (2.0 for loss) and a sack vs. Boston College … made two tackles (one for loss) at Syracuse … added two tackles at No. 23 Pitt … recorded six tackles and a forced fumble vs. Florida State … the forced fumble against Florida State came three yards behind the line of scrimmage on a pass play, but with Florida State recovering the fumble past the line of scrimmage, NCAA rules prohibiting sacks from being credited on fumbles that gain yardage precluded him from receiving a sack on the play … made four tackles at Louisville … harassed Brock Purdy with three credited quarterback pressures and made one tackle vs. Iowa State.

2020: Initially intended to play only four games in 2020 and redshirt after complications with COVID-19 and strep throat, but ended up playing seven games upon the NCAA’s blanket eligibility waiver for 2020 … credited with 11 tackles (4.0 for loss), 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble in only 119 snaps over seven games (one start) … made season debut vs. No. 7 Miami … added three tackles (0.5 for loss) at Georgia Tech … recorded three tackles including his first sack of the season vs. Syracuse … added a sack vs. Boston College, giving him a full sack in back-to-back games for the first time in his career … made one tackle at No. 4 Notre Dame … forced a fumble on a sack vs. Pitt … had a half-sack among his two tackles at Virginia Tech.

2019: Third-team All-ACC selection … credited with 31 tackles (8.0 for loss), 2.0 sacks, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery in 434 snaps in 12 games (eight starts) … recorded four tackles (1.5 for loss) with a half-sack vs. Georgia Tech … added two tackles including a half-sack vs. No. 12 Texas A&M … made three tackles, including his first full sack of the season, at Syracuse … contributed two tackles (one for loss) vs. Charlotte … added five tackles and contributed to the game-winning stop on a two-point conversion attempt at North Carolina … made one tackle and rushed for one yard on his first career rushing attempt vs. Florida State … recorded a tackle and a fumble recovery at NC State … posted two tackles, both for loss, vs. Wake Forest … notched three tackles and a pass breakup vs. No. 22 Virginia in the ACC Championship Game … registered six tackles (1.5 for loss) in the Fiesta Bowl against No. 2 Ohio State … added two tackles vs. No. 1 LSU.

2018: Credited with 43 tackles (10.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks and two pass breakups in 304 snaps over 15 games … first-team Freshman All-America selection by USA Today, ESPN.com, The Athletic and 247Sports … made debut with three tackles (including one for loss) against Furman … recorded first career sack vs. Georgia Southern … collected team co-special teams player of the week honors against Georgia Tech after a devastating hit on the Yellow Jackets’ only kickoff return of the day … helped seal a comeback win against Syracuse, recording a highlight-reel sack and applying pressure throughout Syracuse’s final desperation drive … recorded two tackles for loss among his four total tackles at Wake Forest … made five tackles, including 2.5 for loss, in only 25 snaps vs. No. 16 NC State … collected two tackles for loss with one sack among his three tackles at Florida State … added four tackles vs. Louisville … contributed four tackles at No. 17 Boston College … added three tackles vs. Duke … made one tackle vs. South Carolina … registered three tackles and a pass breakup in ACC Championship Game against Pitt … made two tackles including an assisted tackle for loss vs. No. 3 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl … contributed three tackles including a half-sack in the National Championship Game vs. No. 1 Alabama.

Before Clemson: No. 3 player in the nation by 247Sports, No. 4 player by ESPN and No. 5 player by PrepStars and Rivals … No. 1 defensive end in the nation by 247Sports, ESPN, PrepStars and Rivals … No. 1 player in Florida by 247Sports, ESPN, PrepStars and Rivals … Anthony Munoz national lineman-of-the-year … U.S. Army All-American Game participant … played at IMG (Fla.) Academy as a senior after playing three seasons at Wilson High School (Florence, S.C.) … helped IMG Academy to a 9-0 record and No. 2 national ranking by MaxPreps as a senior … USA Today National Defensive Player-of-the-Year finalist … invited to Nike’s The Opening in 2017 … had 34 tackles and eight tackles for loss as a senior … had 70 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and nine sacks as a sophomore … had 568 yards and eight touchdowns on 59 carries as a sophomore … had 59 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, eight sacks and 21 quarterback pressures as a freshman … teammate of fellow Tiger signee Mike Jones Jr. … coached by Kevin Wright at IMG Academy High School … enrolled at Clemson in January 2018 … recruited by Todd Bates, Danny Pearman and Brent Venables.

Personal: Born Dec. 20, 1999 … earned degree in criminal justice in December 2020 in only three years … pursuing graduate degree in athletic leadership.