Clemson’s Xavier Thomas missed a second straight game. When might he be back?
Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas is making progress as he works his way back from a concussion, but the sophomore has yet to be cleared to return to action.
Thomas missed a second consecutive game on Saturday as he did not dress out for Clemson’s 59-7 victory over Boston College. He also missed the previous game against Louisville after being banged up during practice leading up to the matchup against the Cardinals.
“He’s doing good. He was a lot better Friday, but you don’t practice against these guys, this is not a game that you wear shorts all week and then show up and play on Saturday,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said following Saturday’s win. “But he was a lot better. But we just didn’t want to have a setback and him be out there with the noise and all that stuff. So hopefully he’s gonna be ready to go on Monday and have a full week of practice. He’s ready to get back out there. He’s chomping at the bit.”
Swinney indicated that Thomas had yet to clear concussion protocol prior to Saturday’s game against the Eagles. He is hopeful that will take place early this coming week. The Tigers host Wofford on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Thomas, who entered the season as a preseason All-American, has 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks on the year.
“He was in protocol. He was a lot better on Friday. But you’re not gonna put a guy out there in that situation,” Swinney said. “We feel like he’ll be ready to go on Monday, but we’ll see. I’m sure they’ll meet with him (Sunday) and do one more check with him, and hopefully he’ll get the green light and can get back out there.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2019 at 3:59 PM.
