Bryan Bresee is set to embark on the next chapter of his football career after a few years of seasoning at the collegiate level, which is a pretty standard path for players entering the NFL.
What isn’t typical is the other experiences Bresee has gone through at just 21 years old to get to this point.
A Maryland native, the next step along Bresee’s journey will take him further south to the Big Easy after the former Clemson standout was taken 29th overall by the New Orleans Saints on Thursday in the first round of the NFL Draft. Bresee, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in 2020, started fast with the Tigers as the 6-foot-5, 300-pound defensive tackle earned ACC Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors that season.
That was before knee and shoulder injuries as well as a kidney infection kept Bresee from fully tapping into his potential in college, where he finished with 50 tackles and 15 tackles for loss in 26 games.
Bresee also played through personal tragedy a season ago when his younger sister, Ella, died in September after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. Bresee often wore tape running the length of his arms accompanied by the words “Ella Strong” during games in her memory.
As he received the phone call from the Saints informing him of their selection, cameras caught Bresee, with his mom and dad sitting alongside him, wearing a T-shirt with the same wording on it.
“I’ve gone through a lot this past year,” Bresee told local media in New Orleans. “Illnesses. The loss of my little sister. A lot of things that make you grow up very quickly. Just a lot of things that mature you pretty fast and a lot of young people don’t go through and should never have to go through. That’s something that’s definitely made me a more mature person.”
How proud would Ella have been of her big brother Thursday?
“She loved watching me play and loved being around the atmosphere of football,” Bresee said. “Everyone embraced her so much at Clemson and everywhere that she was. She loved being around. She loved watching. She would just be glowing.”
As for the player the Saints are getting, Bresee said he feels like he’s a versatile lineman that can stay on the field all three downs. While he lined up primarily on the interior, Clemson also used him on the edge in certain packages.
“There’s always room to improve, but I feel like I’m able to play on any given down,” Bresee said. “Whatever the coaching staff expects from me.”
Bresee said the Saints are also getting a healthy player. A torn ACL and a shoulder injury limited him to just four games during his sophomore season in 2021, but Bresee said those are the only two surgeries he’s ever had. He’s fully recovered from both, he said.
“I feel great from them now,” Bresee said. “I have no issues. I’m ready to go.”
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