A former Clemson standout has been very impressed by what he’s seen from Xavier Thomas on the field this season.

Former Tiger All-ACC offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain, now an ACC Network analyst, talked about Thomas this week and had some high praise for the senior defensive end.

“Xavier Thomas has had an unbelievable year,” Mac Lain said on the Gramlich and Mac Lain Podcast with Kelly Gramlich. “He has had a life-changing year because I can almost guarantee he’s gonna be invited to the Senior Bowl now. He might get invited to the NFL Combine. This guy has turned it around and looks fantastic.”

In nine games this season (eight starts), Thomas has totaled 26 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one pass breakup, a couple of forced fumbles and 14 quarterback pressures.

While Thomas is certainly filling up the stat sheet, Mac Lain believes his impact for the Tigers on defense goes beyond just his numbers.

“His presence on the field cannot be measured by the stat sheet,” Mac Lain said. “It can be measured with your eyes and your understanding of the game of football. He is all over the place, making quarterbacks uncomfortable, running guys down.”

Last year was a tough one for Thomas, who contracted COVID-19 and couldn’t train for around a month or two because he was still having trouble breathing. Because of that, he gained around 20 pounds. After his bout with COVID, with Thomas being mostly in the clear, he got strep throat and it put him even further in the hole.

Thomas has fought through that adversity and looks like the former five-star prospect that Clemson fans saw glimpses of during his freshman and sophomore seasons.

“The effort has been lights out from X, and it’s good to see that, especially a young man who was so affected by COVID a year ago, who just wasn’t himself,” Mac Lain said. “He couldn’t work out. He was overweight, couldn’t move and completely transformed. Looks like a superhero and is playing at a very high level.”

.@EricMacLain with some high praise for @atxlete this season 🐯

Full weekend recap episode: https://t.co/YOCg5olLYJ pic.twitter.com/ReMJvkRF4z

— Kelly Gramlich (@kellygramlich) November 10, 2021

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