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Clemson’s visitor list for Saturday’s spring game will be headlined by a pair of five-stars.

One of those is Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy defensive end Xavier Thomas, a Florence native the Tigers have chased since his freshman year.

Thomas (6-3, 260), ranked No. 5 nationally by Rivals.com, has been viewed as a heavy South Carolina lean for a long time – and for good reason. He admittedly grew up a Gamecocks fan and has given them the benefit of the doubt to date, with separate visits to a spring practice and their spring game occurring the previous two weeks.

Our information suggests Thomas could be joined by family members during Saturday’s visit, and Thomas has been at Clemson twice this year already, too – for its late January elite junior day as well as IMG’s tour visit last month.

And the power of the paw has never been stronger.