Xavier Thomas (born December 20, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) s ...

High school career

After playing for three years in Florence, SC at Wilson High School, Thomas played his senior season at

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

in Florida.

College career

After recording forty-three

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, three and a half sacks, and two pass breakups in his freshman season, Thomas was named to USA Today's Freshman All-America Team. During the 2019 season, he earned Third Team All- Atlantic Coast Conference honors after posting 31 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and two sacks. Thomas contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

and strep throat in July 2020, and announced he would redshirt the 2020 season. However, after the NCAA declared that all players could participate in the season without losing a year of eligibility, Thomas decided to play, despite missing summer workouts. On October 31, 2020, Thomas was ejected for targeting Boston College quarterback

Phil Jurkovec Phil Jurkovec (born November 3, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He previously played college football for the Boston College and the Notre Dame. Early years Jurkovec attended Pine-Richland High School in ...

. He missed the first half of the following game against Notre Dame.

College statistics

References

External links

* 1999 births Living people American football defensive ends Clemson Tigers football players IMG Academy alumni Players of American football from South Carolina Sportspeople from Florence, South Carolina {{Defensive-lineman-1990s-stub