CLEMSON – The defensive line for No. 4 Clemson is among the best in the nation.

With the talents of projected NFL prospects Peter Woods and TJ Parker, the big men up front are a unit to be feared for this season. Behind the stars, however, are players who are itching to get more snaps and show the world that they are ready to be the next top playmakers.

Behind Woods and super senior DeMonte Capehart at defensive tackle, sophomore Vic Burley waits for the chance to earn more snaps. Due to injuries and other factors, Burley tallied just 92 snaps across eight games in 2024, where he secured eight tackles. The year before, he dealt with knee injuries that kept him sidelined for the entire year.

“He kind of had some struggles early on, redshirted, and missed a bunch of time due to injuries,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “He just hadn’t really been able to put it together with any type of consistency.”

A cousin of defensive tackles coach Nick Eason, the 6-foot-4, 320-pound Burley committed to Clemson in the summer of 2022 after putting together a fantastic high school career. At Warner Robins High School in Georgia, he produced 188 tackles, 55 tackles for loss, and 22 sacks in three seasons. Additionally, he helped lead his school to state championships in his sophomore and junior seasons and a berth in the finals in his senior year.

Burley was named a consensus top-80 national player by top recruiting sites while being named the No. 18 best player in the nation by 247Sports. Additionally, he earned 5A Defensive Player of the Year honors in Georgia and was ranked as a solid five-star player.

These accolades and accomplishments led to his enrollment at Clemson in January of 2023, and since then, he has dealt with injuries while working to improve until it is his time.

“He’s had a good camp. He has earned the right to play,” Swinney said. “Last year, we wouldn’t put him in there, but he has earned the right to go play at this point.”

Even with sitting behind Capehart and Woods, Burley should expect to see a solid amount of snaps and gain more in-game experience before he gets the chance to be a starter. He will get the chance to show his hard work off in the 2025 season, which the Tigers kick off against No. 9 LSU on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m., at Memorial Stadium.