Dabo Swinney reveals injury status of Adam Randall, Xavier Thomas ahead of opener

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is pleased with the health of his team ahead of the opener against Georgia Tech, sharing that only two players from the two-deep roster — Adam Randall and Xavier Thomas — will be out against the Yellow Jackets.

Randall, a true freshman wide receiver, tore his ACL in the spring and Thomas, a senior defensive end, sustained a foot injury in a recent scrimmage and was expected to miss time. Swinney maintained his optimism when it came to the two players who will be out for the opener.

“We’re a healthy team. Man, that’s been a blessing for us. We’re in a much better spot than we were this time last year. Hopefully that can be a trend for us this year,” Swinney said. “Obviously — we’ve only got two guys that are two deep guys for us, in Adam Randall and Xavier Thomas, that are out for this game. But both are trending in a really good direction. Adam is full speed, in fact he’s working on the scout team every day this week. And next week. And really just taking every rep. That’s kind of really the last little check for him. And Xavier’s doing great. So we’re in a good spot there and guys are ready to get to Atlanta and play.”

That Randall is so close to playing could be a boon for a Clemson offense that would benefit greatly from a bump in receiver play from a year ago. Randall is an impressive prospect at 6-foot-3-inches tall and 217 pounds and was a top 100 recruit according to the On3 Consensus rankings, which rated him a four-star.

Thomas has been a stalwart on the defensive line since arriving at Clemson in 2018. He’s recorded 13 total sacks in his career and should slot in to a starting role whenever he’s healthy again. Swinney was mum on when exactly he expects Thomas to return, however.