Roster Update: Clemson's Xavier Thomas Gets on Field, Lawrence 'Sore'

After it was announced that Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas was available for the first time in 2020, it was still unknown if he'd see any playing time.

The junior has been working his way back from multiple illnesses and getting his conditioning where it should be. And while he spent the last two weeks on the scout team, the Tigers were finally able to get him on the field for a few late-game snaps.

Dont even know how happy it felt to just touch the field again😩 I LOVE THIS TEAM!!! LETS GOO
— Xavier Thomas (@atxlete) October 11, 2020

"Got XT in the game. He got a few reps right there at the end," Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. "Good to get him back out there and hopefully he can take the next step this week with a full week of practice and see if we can go from there."

One of the storylines of the game for the defense was Jayln Phillips, a sophomore safety who had not played much in his career but was inserted into the game plan in a major way after Joseph Charleston was ruled "out," Swinney said.

"I thought he did a lot of good things," Swinney said about Phillips.

No update was given on why Charleston left the game, and Swinney said the team came out of the Miami game pretty healthy overall.

That includes Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who took a hard hit to the stomach in the second half from Miami defender Keonta Smith, who was ejected for targeting. Lawrence stayed down for a few minutes before walking off on his own power. He came right back in the game and completed the drive with a 3-yard TD run.

"I'm sore. It was a physical game," Lawrence said. "(The hit) knocked the breath out of me pretty bad. I couldn't breathe. I got my breath back next play. It wasn't anything serious."

Keontra Smith was ejected for this hit on Trevor Lawrence. pic.twitter.com/dMT0U2VIbv
— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) October 11, 2020

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