Peer Recruiter: Xavier Thomas gives us his thoughts on Clemson's class

As the new Early Signing Period approaches, many of the tops recruits in college football will face one of the toughest decisions of their young lives.

For other prospects, the decision won’t be so hard.

Their focus will be on making one final push to get in the ear of an unsigned top player to come to the school they just signed to.

One of those players leading the charge will be Clemson commit Xavier Thomas‍.

Thomas, a 6’3 263-pound defensive end from Florence, SC, is the third-highest rated prospect in the 2018 class according to 247sports. He’s been committed to Clemson since the morning of the spring game on April 8, 2017.

Since his commitment to the Tigers, Thomas has been a fascinating figure on social media with a dominating presence. He publicly stirred the pot on Twitter by posting about Clemson’s 34-10 win over in-state rival South Carolina.

Thomas also uses Twitter to market Clemson and publicly recruit his peers.

As one of the nation’s top prospects, Thomas carries a lot of weight. With each tweet at another top unsigned prospect, there is a snowball effect. The fans become more infatuated and fired up.

Thomas joined Clemson Sports Talk Monday night and said he has never really been much of a “talkative” guy. But once he committed to the Tigers, he felt he had some work to do among his peers.

“I never get to a point where I am bothering guys,” Thomas said. “I mess with guys here and there, like KJ (Henry). I bother him a lot. We are all having fun with it, and we know it’s about to come to an end.”

The Henry that Thomas mentioned is one of the top prospects that Clemson has had its eye on that Thomas has been trying to sway. Henry is the third-highest rated weak-side defensive end in the 2018 class according to 247sports. He will sign at 4:20 PM on Wednesday afternoon.

When asked what former player he resembles his game after, Thomas said he converts speed to power as Vic Beasley did during his time at Clemson. The combination of Thomas and Henry would be another storied bookend duo on the defensive line that Clemson fans have gotten so used to seeing in recent years.

“That’s basically one of my brothers,” Thomas said of Henry. “He knows we can go to Clemson and make history and carry the tradition of the great D-ends that have come out of there.

“I tell him almost every day the history we can make.”

That’s just one example of what Thomas has been doing both publicly on Twitter and behind closed doors.

He said that he has a good “gut feeling” that the guys he has talked to the most will choose Clemson, which happen to be Cade Mays‍ (OT), Justyn Ross‍ (WR), and KJ Henry‍ (DE).

“Guys like that I talk to on a daily basis,” Thomas said. “I have a really good feeling about them.”

Thomas hasn’t been the only player who has done some peer recruiting. This time, it was done privately.

Thomas told Clemson Sports Talk that Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall prospect in 2018 according to 247sports, called him up just before he announced his commitment to Clemson to let him know what he was doing. He wanted to get Thomas to do some thinking of his own.

“That really got me thinking a lot about how Clemson is never going to go anywhere.”

From there, Thomas made his decision and has been trying to be that same influence on other players the way Lawrence was for him.

Thomas spent this past football season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida and said the experience there was much like what college would be like.

“(IMG) has developed me mentally and physically with football and measuring my time with academics and football. It’s basically the college life living here. It’s definitely prepared me for the next level.”

Even though he spent his season away from home, Thomas plans to be back home at Wilson High School for his signing day on Wednesday, his birthday. It’ll be a great moment for him and his family.

“It’s just a blessing, man,” Thomas said. “Going back home in front of family and friends, people who have been with me since day one before all the shine came, and just being able to sign with the support of my boys, my teachers and old coaches, and ultimately my family is a blessing.”

Early Signing Period will begin, and Thomas will finally sign his name on the dotted line of his National Letter of Intent, a moment he won’t forget.

Shortly after, he’ll pick up the phone to “bother” another indecisive prospect by doing just what Thomas does.

The recruit will most likely send it to voicemail and Thomas will ask one question:

“Are you next?”

Join Clemson Sports Talk today for just $1 for your first month or at our promotional rate of $49.95/year.