Xavier Thomas knows he has a bigger platform than most college students, so he went to Twitter after the Tigers’ most recent game to use it.
Shortly after Clemson’s 19-13 win over Boston College — one in which the Tigers’ senior defensive end had three tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss — Thomas revealed in a tweet that he contemplated giving up football after dealing with injuries and weight gain last season.
Thomas’ tweet also included gratitude and words of encouragement. Part of it expressed hope that his situation will inspire others who might find themselves dealing with the same one not to give up either.
Just hope my story inspires others just to never give up on themselves & their dreams. Lord knows the spot I was at last year about to quit ball. Thank you God❤️
— Xavier Thomas (@atxlete) October 3, 2021
Asked Monday what prompted Thomas to tweet that postgame message, he said the reason was simple.
“I would just say where I came from last year in regards to coming back from a lot of different obstacles I went through as far as gaining a lot of weight and all those things like that,” he said. “I was about to give up on myself and give up on football.
“It was really was just about not giving up on yourself, just believing in God, just believing in yourself and not giving up on it.”
Thomas, who’s playing around 260 pounds this season after getting north of 290 during the pandemic-affected season a year ago, has looked more like the all-ACC performer he was early in his career, particularly when it comes to getting in the backfield. Through five games, Thomas leads Clemson in sacks (3.5) and quarterback pressures (8) and trails only fellow defensive end Myles Murphy in tackles for loss (4.5).
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
