By Hale McGranahan.

FLORENCE – Wilson High School has produced some pretty prominent football players over the years.

Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson headlines the list.

Current pros include Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who played at Wilson with Justin Durant, a linebacker with the Falcons. Durant’s older brother, Darian, went to UNC before he was a Grey Cup winning quarterback with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL.

Following in their footsteps is freshman defensive end Xavier Thomas, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound 15-year-old.

Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee and Stanford are already expressing interest. Florida State, where Timmons played his college ball, was first to offer.

“It was about two weeks ago during spring break when coach Eaddy came to my house and surprised me about that one,” Thomas said, during an on location interview with TheClemsonInsider.

“It felt great. I didn’t really expect them to give me an offer. I guess they realized me after they watched my tape.”

Clemson tight ends coach Danny Pearman, who serves as the area recruiter, will stop by Wilson at some point during the spring evaluation period.

“I just know about their defense, their front. I used to watch Vic Beasley a lot and I portray him in my game,” Thomas said. “I’m going to their three-day camp this summer.”

Thomas also plans to take a three-day camp visit to Florida State and one-day camp trip to South Carolina.

Primarily a defensive end during his freshman year, Thomas played some tight end at the beginning of the season, but he’ll get more time on the offensive side of the ball in the fall. While there’s no preferred position for Thomas, when it comes to picking out a future home, he listed two factors that will be considered as he moves through the recruiting process.

“Basically, the school that can offer me the best education,” Thomas said. “Also, just the best program that I can actually go somewhere with.”

Eaddy, who worked as an assistant at Atlanta-Grady before coming back home to take over the program at Wilson, said Thomas runs as well as any player he’s coached. That includes former Georgia cornerback Damian Swann.

“Change of direction, he’s really quick. He’s a fast-twitch athlete and he’s still growing and he’s about to hit a growth spurt now,” Eaddy said. “But he works hard in the weight room. He’s one of the kids who’s pushing himself to be the best.”

TCI will have more on Thomas in today’s edition of the Insider Report.