Bryan Thomas Jr. picks up where he left off last season with dominating spring game performance
A year ago, Bryan Thomas Jr. had a coming out party in South Carolina’s spring game and carried that momentum into the 2023 season. On Saturday, the defensive end picked up right where he left off finishing with a game-high seven tackles, including 2.5 sacks.
“The spring game really just shows me what I can do and what I can bring to the fall,” said Thomas. “It shows my skill set to the fans; appreciate the fans coming out there. It really just makes me better each and every rep.”
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Last season, Thomas played in all 12 of South Carolina’s games and made six starts. Finishing with 22 tackles, he added two tackles for loss, a sack, and forced a fumble.
While his spring game performance this year stuck out like a random Clemson fan wearing orange in a sea of garnet at a Gamecock event, head coach Shane Beamer shared that it was just one of the many strong days Thomas had this spring.
“He’s been really good. He really, really has been,” said Beamer. “He’s been very consistent. I think Bryan’s done a great job of understanding where his strengths are. You look at him, he doesn’t look like Dylan Stewart, he doesn’t look like Desmond (Umeozulu) just from a size standpoint and that’s okay. My dad’s in the room and one of the greatest defensive ends he ever had was a guy by the name of Corey Moore and he was maybe six feet (tall). But he understood leverage and he was hard to block and he was a relentless player. Bryan I think has done a great job of embracing his skill set.”
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Being a student of the game aside, Thomas has also committed himself to growing in the weight room. A commitment that has shown with both his stature as well as his quickness around the edge.
“Throughout (my time at South Carolina) my weight has definitely changed,” said Thomas. “I can play the run way better. Like last season, I was around 235. I put on about ten pounds of muscle (this offseason) and I feel like I have a lot more energy while also playing faster. I’m just trying to do my job for the team.”
