‘He got rocked pretty good.’ Dabo details the hit that sidelined Xavier Thomas
Clemson star defensive end Xavier Thomas has missed each of the past two games with a concussion after going down in practice leading up to the Louisville game.
Swinney provided some insight into the hit that sidelined Thomas during his press conference on Tuesday.
“He got rocked pretty good by John (Simpson) in practice in our inside drill, and it shook him,” Swinney said. “He looked pretty good last night. It was the first time that they really ran him. You get into these concussion protocols, everybody responds differently. It’s just not something that you mess with.”
It has been about 14 days since the hit occurred, but Thomas has yet to return to practice.
Thomas is still in concussion protocol, and Swinney is waiting to hear from trainer Danny Poole on when he can return to the field.
“You’ve gotta be able to practice. And go out there and put the pads on. And he couldn’t do it Tuesday and Wednesday,” Swinney said. “Not that he couldn’t. He didn’t qualify to do it. He probably could. And there’s probably a day in time where he probably would’ve been out there doing it. I mean shoot, the game has changed.”
Swinney himself suffered a concussion during his playing days and recalled the time he went down. But unlike Thomas, Swinney only missed a few days.
“I got knocked out in Bryant-Denny one time. Literally knocked out cold right in the temple on a dig route. And I woke up in the training room back at the football facility. I didn’t remember anything,” Swinney recalled. “I was back practicing in about two or three days. It was just a different deal. But we were pretty stupid then too. We just know more.”
Swinney is hopeful Thomas will be back for this weekend’s game against Wofford, but it is too early to tell.
He was also hopeful the sophomore would be back for last week’s game against Boston College, but Thomas did not attend the game, even on the sideline, so that the noise and lights would not lead to a setback.
“We’ll see where he is... How’s he going to do? How’s he going to respond? I have no idea. And really don’t even ask.” Swinney said. “We’ll meet in the morning and go over the injury report every morning... I’m hopeful but nothing guaranteed.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2019 at 1:01 PM.
