Former Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley played his entire rookie season with a torn labrum, according to ESPN blogger Vaughn McClure. Atlanta Falcons’ head coach Dan Quinn told McClure at Senior Bowl practices earlier this month that his former first-round selection will not have surgery this off-season to repair it either.

Despite the injury, Beasley finished his first year in the NFL with 26 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. His four sacks were a franchise record for a rookie, while one of his forced fumbles secured the Falcons’ win over NFC Champion, Carolina. The loss to Atlanta was the Panthers’ lone defeat in the regular season.

Beasley was selected No. 8 overall by the Falcons in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney told McClure he was not surprised to see Beasley overcome his injured shoulder and play through the pain.

“Vic’s a tough kid,” Swinney said in the article. “I thought he had a good rookie year for a guy coming into a new situation. Obviously, it was good to see him make a game-winning sack/fumble on Cam [Newton] against the Panthers. That was a big moment for him. And hopefully that will get a lot of momentum going for him going into next season.”

Swinney went onto say he knows Beasley, along with former Tiger and current Atlanta Falcons’ defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, learned a lot in their first season in the league. He talked about how proud he was of both of them and how great it was to see them, along with several other former Tigers, in Arizona when Clemson played Alabama in the National Championship Game last month.

“That’s one thing that we have at Clemson and you hear about it all the time; you hear about the family atmosphere,” Swinney told McClure. “It really is. It’s a family. Guys love each other. And guys aren’t happy to leave there. It’s a place that, at some point, you’ve got to go. But they all love to come back and they stay in touch with our program. And they get back whenever they can. We had a ton of guys out there in Arizona supporting the team. It was great.”

As for Beasley, Swinney knows the defensive end will only get better as career in Atlanta moves along.

“Vic loves to play,” he said. “He’s not a guy who is looking to stand on the sidelines. He’ll get that [shoulder] fixed, I’m sure, and be back 100 percent and ready to go. And he’ll be even better next year.”

If you haven’t already order your copy today of Guts & Glory – Tales of Clemson’s Historic 2015 Football Season to help you celebrate and remember this special season.