It appears Xavier Thomas’ absence will be a brief one.
This past Wednesday, Dabo Swinney revealed that Thomas “got banged up at practice” earlier in the week. As a result, the defensive end was placed in concussion protocol and ultimately ruled out of what turned into Clemson’s win over Louisville.
Monday, defensive coordinator Brent Venables stated that he “think[s] he probably will” be available for Saturday’s game against Boston College, “but we’ll see.”
In six games this season (four starts), Thomas, a preseason All-American, is tied for the team lead in quarterback hits with six. He’s also second in tackles for loss with 4½.
A five-star 2018 signee, Thomas was the No. 3 player at any position on 247Sports.com‘s composite board, behind only a pair of quarterbacks — teammate Trevor Lawrence and Georgia’s Justin Fields, who ultimately transferred to Ohio State.
Interestingly, the layer who replaced Thomas, Justin Foster, was named the ACC’s Defensive Lineman of the Week after posting a pair of sacks in the win over the Cardinals.
It was a big week for these guys.
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 21, 2019
Congrats to our Week 8 honorees!
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