Defensive end Thomas ready to take over
While sophomore defensive end Xavier Thomas had an impressive showing in 2018 and earned all-American honors as a freshman, coaches will be looking for him to take on a larger role on the team and be an impact player in the upcoming season.
Thomas, at 6-foot-2 and 260 pounds, had 43 tackles (10.5 for a loss), 3.5 sacks and two pass breakups in 2018.
Defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall said he wants to see how Thomas responds to getting more reps as a starter heading into the season.
“When you start to get starter reps, there's a lot more expectation in the game,” Hall said. “So that's what we want to see for progress. Because now you're playing more minutes. You get more opportunities. That's what I expect from him. I want to see that development from the spring. All right, so he had a good spring. Now let's see the transformation to the weight room, and then obviously, let's see what happens in the fall.”
Hall said that since Thomas will likely get more reps in 2019, the sophomore is going to have to be more “dialed in” to the game and be effective as an all-snap end.
“He's got to become a better pass rusher,” Hall said. “He's got to become a better run defender. (He’s got to) continue to work on developing his technique because it's not like he can just run around blocks. You've got to play the technique that we're trying to teach, and then obviously, we've got the other players as well. And he's very capable of doing that.”
“He can't just be third down long (player) where you put your ears back,” Hall added. “You've got to play first down, second down, third down. … I need him to be a first down guy, and he's very capable of doing that, and that's what I expect for him to be a true defensive end.”
