By Heath Bradley.

ATLANTA, GA – Vic Beasley, a redshirt sophomore from nearby Adairsville, Georgia made the most of his opportunity to play in his “hometown.” Beasley played a key role on a Clemson defense that held theAuburn Tigers to 19 points en route to a 26 to 19 Clemson Victory. His effort did not go unnoticed to Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. Following the victory Swinney addressed the media, and the play of this young defensive line including Beasley.

“We played a bunch of guys on the defensive line and they got better as the game went along. It was also great to see (Vic) Beasley come up huge for us late,” said Beasley.

Beasley made an immediate impact early on in the game for the Tigers, using his speed often to disrupt Auburn quarterback Kiehl Frazier in the pocket. Beasley understands that he can use his speed off the edge to his advantage.

“I used my ability and quickness to get to the quarterback,” said Beasley.

Not only did this speed get Beasley to the quarterback, it also placed pressure on the Auburn offensive line, including one false start penalty induced by Beasley.

For a player who had only appeared in 16 snaps entering tonight’s game, Beasley saw the field in many key situations for the Tigers tonight, including late in the game as Auburn tried to rally and comeback. This playing experience, especially on a national stage, is something that Beasley feels will help him propel his game to the next level.

“The more snaps I get, the more my experience is, it is good for me,” said Beasley.

With Clemson’s win tonight over a very talented Auburn team, Beasley feels that these Tigers are headed in the right direction for another championship season. “It feels good, we came out to play hard and had really good focus. Auburn is a good team, they have a lot of my respect.” According to Beasley, for himself as well as his teammates, the focus is to play hard, but also play smart. “I went out there with the right mindset and played hard.” This was evident on the second to final play of the game when Beasley violently sacked Auburn quarterback Kiehl Frazier. Beasley relentlessly pursued a scrambling Frazier who was looking to pass, and violently hit him from his blindside for his first career sack as a Clemson Tiger.

Besides being close to home, this game had extra special meaning for Beasley. Beasley’s father, Victor, was a member of the Auburn football team from 1982-1984. Over the past three seasons, Clemson holds a 2-1 advantage over Auburn, one that the younger Beasley will be reminding his father of very soon.

“We go back and forth, exchange words. I am going to talk to him about it tonight,” said Beasley.

These bragging rights will hopefully propel Beasley to a breakout season as Tiger in 2012.