Is now the time for Vic Burley?

The former five-star prospect signed with Clemson as a member of the 2023 recruiting class, and due to his lofty recruiting ranking, was seen as an instant-impact player. However, things haven’t quite played out that way.

Burley suffered a knee injury during his freshman campaign, something he says really set him back. Since then, the 6-foot-4, 320-pounder has shown flashes, but it has yet still to fully come together for the former blue-chip prospect.

“The biggest way I have grown on and off the field is mentality-wise,” Burley said. “Of course, I started off my freshman year with an MCL tear. That was a setback, but for a major comeback for me. It really gave me a chance to sit back and watch how the older guys worked.”

Having just completed his fourth spring practice, Dabo Swinney certainly feels like now is the time, with the head coach publicly challenging Burley after the spring game. That only adds fuel to the fire for the rising redshirt junior.

“Maybe he doesn’t see me as the man,” Burley said of the comments. “So that pushes me to be the best version of Vic.”

However, one of the biggest challenges Burley is facing is the new arrivals. The Tigers added three defensive tackles from the transfer portal, including Markus Strong, who many are projecting to be a starter. Andy Burburija, a JUCO addition and summer enrollee, is also expected to compete for playing time.

“I love my teammates to death, and with the new additions that we’ve brought in, it really challenged me to really step my game up because it’s competition in the room,” Burley said. “It was always competition in the room, but now, you add on to it, just pushing me to be harder.”

Burley certainly flashed during the spring game, finishing with three tackles, 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup while helping the Orange squad to a 23-3 victory over the White team, and that is the kind of production Swinney is looking for.

But Burley knows there is much more work to be done if he is going to live up to those lofty expectations placed upon him when he signed with the Tigers. While it might be taking longer than most envisioned, Burley is determined to fulfill his potential.

“Like Coach Swinney said, I am going to focus on the rock in my shoe,” Burley said. “Of course, we got to climb the mountain, but you can’t climb nowhere if you still got the pebbles in your shoe.”