Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas out for the year

Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas reinjured his foot during a practice last week, forcing him to miss Saturday’s game at Notre Dame.

Tigers coach Dabo Swinney provided an update on Thomas during his call-in show Monday night.

Swinney revealed that Thomas is out for the year due to the foot issue.

“The best thing for him is to let’s just go ahead and do what we need to do and kind of reset,” Swinney said. “He’s going to be done for the rest of the year. He’s not going to be able to come back and play.”

While Thomas won’t play again this year, he technically could still return to Clemson.

Thomas is currently a fifth-year senior. However, he gets a COVID-19 year and a redshirt year, which means he still has one final year of eligibility left.

“He could obviously head on to the draft. He could come back to Clemson for another year if he wanted to. He’s got a lot of football in front of him,” Swinney said.

The good news for Thomas is that the injury doesn’t appear to be a long-term problem.

He should be ready to go in a few months — either for spring practice or the NFL combine.

“He could obviously head on to the draft. He could come back to Clemson for another year if he wanted to,” Swinney said. “So if he does decide to come back to Clemson, he’ll be ready to go for spring practice and all of that. If he does go ahead and go pro then he’s fully ready for the combine and has no limitations.”

Thomas originally injured his foot during fall camp and hasn’t been fully healthy all year.

He did have two sacks against Boston College, earning ACC Player of the Week honors.

While Swinney is disappointed for Thomas, he did say that he is in a good place mentally.

“We’ve had some really good conversations. It’s totally different than if he wasn’t who he is today – this present version of himself. He has really grown into an outstanding young man, very mature. Just so much more equipped to handle adversity,” Swinney said.

“He’s gonna be fine. It’s just a matter of when that is and what he decides to do.”