The freshman, the veteran hoping to bounce back, and the old guy |
The old guy and the young gun bookend our latest installment of the Top 30 players for 2023.
We are looking at what we think are the Top 30 players for the Tigers this season. This list looks at a few different factors – the depth chart being the most important part – but also how valuable that player is to the team, how much depth is at that spot, and how much that player will contribute this season. The next installment has Nos. 12, 11, and 10, and feature a freshman looking to make his mark, a veteran looking to get back to form, and a former 5-star looking to show the NFL he’s got what it takes in his sixth season. 30. DE Tomarrion Parker, 29. CB Jeadyn Lukus, 28. OL Mitchell Mayes 27. RG Walker Parks, 26. P Aidan Swanson, 25. WR Beaux Collins 24. DE Justin Mascoll, 23. S Jalyn Phillips, 22. LB/S Wade Woodaz 21. RB Phil Mafah, 20. C Will Putnam, 19. CB Sheridan Jones 18. OT Blake Miller, 17. WR Antonio Williams, 16. TE Jake Briningstool 15. WR Cole Turner, 14. CB Nate Wiggins, 13. S RJ Mickens No. 12, Peter Woods, DL A 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive lineman from Alabaster, Alabama, Woods is a 5-star recruit who has done nothing but impress since arriving on campus in January. Many inside the Clemson program felt that the Tigers got the best prep player in the country when Woods signed. It didn’t take Woods long – just one or two practices – to wow coaches and teammates alike with his work ethic and freaky athletic ability. During Clemson’s Pro Day – a day where upperclassmen work out for NFL coaches, general managers, and scouts, Woods drew plenty of stares and whispers as he wandered around the field inside the Poe Indoor Facility. He then responded with seven tackles, a sack, and a blocked kick in the Orange and White Game, putting his athletic ability on display for all to see. Hall, Clemson’s defensive ends coach, is just happy to see Woods in orange. “Coach (Dabo) Swinney talks about, ‘You know it when you see it.’ I saw Peter Woods as a freshman, and I was like, ‘Wow,’” Hall told TigerNet. “You don’t get to see many guys like that … I’m happy he’s on our team.” As a senior last season, Woods tallied 54 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He finished his career at Alabaster (AL) Thompson with 260 tackles, 72 tackles for loss and 29.5 sacks. “He’s a physical kid; he’s twitched-up,” Hall said. “He plays with tremendous effort. He had a great D-line coach coming out of high school, so the foundation for him is already there. He’s a competitor; he’s hungry. He’s all those things.” Hall said Woods can play inside or outside. “Peter Woods can play anywhere he wants to on the D-line. He’s just that good,” Hall said. “Right now, he’s been playing mostly inside. But he’s going to play wherever we need him to play, and he can do it. He can play that position at a high level as well. So if we need him to play at an end position, that’s where he’ll play.” Defensive tackles coach Nick Eason has also been impressed. “I’m not going to crown him the best ever or the best of this or nothing, because the proof’s in the pudding. Obviously, he’s got to play this year,” Eason said. “But I will say that he has the talent level to obviously be an All-American, one of the best that’s ever come through Clemson, in that list of great defensive linemen – the Michael Dean Perrys and the Trevor Pryces and the Grady Jarretts and Dexter Lawrence, and the list goes on and on. “You think about great defensive tackles at Clemson, he has the tools to become that. Is he there yet? No. But does he have the tools to become a great defensive lineman and one of the best that’s ever come through here? Absolutely. But there’s a lot of work to be put in. But I can tell you this, that he’s very focused and that’s what he wants to do. So, that’s kind of how I see him.”Top Tigers for 2023
No. 11, Andrew Mukuba, Safety
Mukuba enters 2023 credited with 104 tackles (2.5 for loss), a sack, 13 pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery in 1,156 snaps over 25 games (21 starts). The Texas native made an immediate impact in 2021, earning Freshman All-American honors from nearly every outlet.
However, Mukuba admitted that he played below his standards last season and that injuries played a role. There was a dislocated elbow, a sprained MCL, and a painful ankle injury.
“I had a lot going on. It was unbelievable because I've never been through that much injuries. It was just crazy,” Mukuba said. “There were injuries I had that nobody would know about but me and, obviously, the training staff. Me being the person I am, I didn't really let that affect me or set me or set me back from going out on the field and doing my best. That was unbelievable. It was crazy.
“My arm. I played with a sprained MCL. I played with a lot more than that. I just went out there and tried to do what I could do.”
Now he’s fully healthy, and the interception in the spring game showed that he’s locked in and ready to return to the form he showed during his freshman season.
“I’m more locked in than I’ve ever been,” Mukuba said. “And it’s crazy because when I came in my freshman year, I was so locked in. That was my freshman All-American year, and I had other accolades because I was so locked in. But I’m telling y’all right now, this is the most locked in I’ve ever been. I’m really excited, and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in the fall.”
No. 10, Xavier Thomas, DE
Thomas is an explosive edge rusher who made an immediate impact as a reserve in 2018, earning near-unanimous Freshman All-American acclaim. A multi-time all-conference selection, he is credited with 116 career tackles (30.0 for loss), 14.5 sacks, five pass breakups, five forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 1,385 defensive snaps over 49 games (19 starts).
However, a foot injury limited Thomas to just three games last season, so he’s back for a sixth season and hopes to have the best year of his career.
“Clemson is a place of love…it’s like a family here. That’s the reason I came to Clemson, because it’s not just about football, it’s about a brotherhood,” Thomas told Maurice Williams late in the season. “The coaches love you like you’re their own son. It’s like a family that you build for life, and you take it with you throughout your whole journey through life. The friends and brothers will carry on. You’ll go to each other’s weddings and baby showers. These are relationships that you’ll have for life.
“It’s a blessing.”
But six years? That’s just a number for Thomas, who knows his journey is just beginning.
“Giving my life to Christ, having faith and knowing that His plan is better than mine, no matter what,” is what Thomas told ClemsonTigers.com is helping him cope. “I’m not going to question anything throughout my journey because my journey is just getting started. It seems like it’s been a long one, but it’s just getting started. I’m a young guy, and there’s really nothing to be down about because I know He has a plan for me.”
Hall said Thomas needed another year.
“XT (Xavier Thomas) needed to come back,” Hall said. “He knew (he’s) been injured and (he hasn’t) done the things that he wanted to do from a football standpoint and talk about his draft stock. It wasn’t where it needed to be. And so now, he gets a chance to come back (and) hopefully stay healthy (and) prove that he deserves to be one of those top guys.
“I think that XT has always been (an) explosive guy. (I think) for him, it’s just details and things that we asked him to do. From a run game standpoint, understanding block read, understanding being physical at the point of attack – just complete his pass rush, get some tools in his pass rush game.”
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