CLEMSON — It is safe to say the first three years of Vic Burley’s college career have not gone as well as he would have hoped.

Clemson’s defensive tackle missed his entire freshman season with knee injuries. Those same knee injuries set him back in 2024, as he missed six games, nearly half the season.

Last year, Burley played in all 13 games, which included his first career start. However, he had just 15 tackles in 175 snaps. Again, not really what he and the Clemson coaches were looking for when they recruited Georgia’s Class AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year.

“He has to show up to play with a bad attitude,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Be ready to be the guy and compete to be the guy.”

They need Burley to show up for practice, too. Swinney reported the 6-foot-4, 320-pound defensive tackle missed Wednesday’s practice with an injury “you can’t see.”

“He has done some good things. He was out (Wednesday) but he has been a guy that has flashed,” Swinney said.

The Tigers, who have already practiced five days this spring, need Burley to do more than just flash his potential.

“He has been a guy that has been okay with being a backup,” Swinney said. “He has to make up his mind that he is going to be a wrecking ball in there because he can do it.

“He has had a great off-season, and so far, he has shown some good things, but it is a long way to go between now and game day. We got a ton of competition in there.”

Swinney admits guys like Kourtney Kelly and Markus Strong are really challenging the others, as is redshirt freshman Amare Adams, who is almost back to practice.

“He is still not quite back, yet. He is close. He is going to be back at practice here soon,” Swinney said.

Until then, especially with Peter Woods and DeMonte Capehart off to the NFL, Clemson needs Burley to step up and become the player they have always envisioned him becoming.