One of the defensive standouts in Clemson’s spring game at Memorial Stadium was defensive tackle Vic Burley, who collected three tackles, 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup while helping the Orange squad to a 23-3 victory over the White team.
Burley certainly made his presence felt with a disruptive showing, and head coach Dabo Swinney took notice of his performance.
“I saw him a couple times today,” Swinney said after the spring game. “He showed up a couple times today.”
Burley was a five-star and consensus top-100 prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. During his final season at Warner Robins (Ga.) High School, he earned 5A Defensive Player of the Year honors.
When Burley enrolled early at Clemson in January 2023, especially with his prospect pedigree, he was expected to make an instant impact. However, things don’t always go according to plan. Injuries hampered Burley during his debut season, and he would ultimately redshirt. In 2024, it was much of the same, with Burley logging just 92 snaps. Last season, Burley appeared in all 13 games, totaling 15 tackles (0.5 for loss) and a pass breakup in 175 defensive snaps.
Now entering his redshirt junior season in 2026, Burley is eyeing a starting role on the Tigers’ defensive line, which will have to replace defensive tackles Peter Woods and DeMonte Capehart after their departures to the NFL Draft.
Swinney is looking for bigger things from Burley this season and says the Tigers are “counting on” the 6-foot-4, 320-pounder this year.
“He’s a guy we’re counting on,” Swinney said. “If he don’t do it, it ain’t nobody’s fault but his. Because he can. Ain’t nobody can stop him but him.
“If he stays out of his own way and does what he needs to do – because [defensive tackles coach] Nick [Eason] has certainly given him everything he needs to be successful – if he shows up with the right mentality every day, he can be a good player.”
Burley came to Clemson after helping guide Warner Robins to state titles during his sophomore and junior seasons and playing for a third as a senior. He was highly productive in 47 career games at the prep level, recording 188 tackles, 55 tackles for loss and 22 sacks for -111 yards. He also had an impressive 138 quarterback hurries.
