Fierce Pass-Rusher Xavier Thomas Unavailable for Clemson

Much like the Buckeyes, Clemson is also expecting to be short-handed in Friday's Sugar Bowl.

Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables will once again be without Xavier Thomas, one of his best pass-rushing options this season. Thomas also missed the ACC Championship game against Notre Dame for unknown reasons and he was left off the travel roster this week.

In his absence, and against one of the best offensive lines in college football, the Tigers still racked up six sacks.

Other Clemson players that will miss the game include DE Jack Brissey, DE Justin Foster, CB Jack McCall, TE Luke Price, WR Justyn Ross, LB Jake Venables, DT Tré Williams and WR Joseph Ngata. Ngata has missed much of the second half of the season after having surgery.

Perhaps Clemson's most notable absence this week is offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, who tested positive for CoVID-19 earlier this week. QB Coach and Passing Game Coordinator Brandon Streeter will call plays for the Tigers tonight.

Clemson released its weekly COVID-19 update before the game as well. The athletic department completed 1,909 COVID-19 PCR tests on student-athletes and staff from Dec. 18 to Dec. 31. A total of nine individuals tested positive, eight staff and one student-athlete, or 0.5 percent positive.

Since June 1, Clemson student-athletes and athletic staff have completed 23,989 COVID-19 PCR tests, with 231 positive results (169 student-athletes, 62 staff), 0.9 percent positive, and no hospitalizations.

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