Xavier Thomas says Tigers' future is bright and he's coming to "make an impact"

Xavier Thomas says he's coming in to make an impact

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Sun Jan 07 08:01:02 GMT-04:00 2018

Xavier Thomas was mostly unblockable during this past week’s practice for the US Army All-American Bowl, and he was unblockable during the early portion of Saturday’s game. As a result, Thomas saw double and triple teams the rest of the afternoon.

Welcome to the world of a superstar.

The future stars of college football were on display in San Antonio for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which resulted in the West defeating the East by a 17-16 margin. Thomas, who plays for the East squad, laughed at the fact that the West sent multiple blockers his way.

“That was crazy,” Thomas told TigerNet after the game “I really wasn’t expecting that I guess they had to do what they had to. But it’s been a great experience coming out here and playing against some of the best players in the country.”

Thomas, out of Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy, spent time with several other Clemson commits over the course of the week, and he took the time to get to know each of his future teammates a little better.

“Yes, because there were a couple of the commits that I really didn’t know that well, but I’ve gotten really close with a lot of them, specifically Derion (Kendrick),” Thomas said. “He was my roommate, so I got really close to him. Other than that, we had a lot of off the field activities, so we bonded a lot. It was good. Derion is a lot - not a little - underrated. Some people don’t even know that, but he’s a great player. And Trevor (Lawrence) is a cool dude. With him being so highly rated, you really wouldn’t think he is just being around him. He doesn’t act like it.”

What else stood out about the week in San Antonio?

“This is my first time being in San Antonio, so I saw a lot of new things that I’ve never seen before,” Thomas said.

Thomas made the trek back east Saturday evening and will move into Clemson Sunday morning, and he said he can’t wait to get started on his college career.

“Just having that experience and having freedom because I’ve been at IMG and I really haven’t had the freedom,” Thomas said, when asked what he was looking forward to. “This will be the first time that I haven’t really had anybody looking over me so I’m just looking forward to making my own decisions and managing my own time.”

What is his message to Clemson fans?

“That I’m coming to making an immediate impact,” Thomas said. “We’re going to be very, very good in the future. We’ve got a very bright future. It’s very bright. Those are some great guys on the field and off the field. They compete and I can’t wait to play with them.”