Clemson Football: Meet Vic Beasley, the Tigers' Breakout Pass-Rusher

CLEMSON, S.C. – If you’d have told Dabo Swinney two years ago that Vic Beasley would be one of Clemson’s defensive line leaders, he admits it would have been “hard to believe at the time.”

With good reason.

Two years ago, Beasley was an athlete in search of a permanent position.

He was a talented athlete when he signed with Clemson, but bounced from tight end to linebacker to defensive end.

“I kept seeing in Vic Beasley that we don’t have a better athlete on the team,” Swinney said. “His length, quickness, suddenness. I called him in [in spring 2012] and said, ‘Think about defensive end.’ He wasn’t ready to be a defensive end, but I said if you buy into this, you’ve really got a chance to be special.

“He’s such a good kid and said, ‘I’ll do it,’ but he didn’t have his heart in it, wasn’t passionate about it. He was still hoping to be on offense.” So Swinney approached him before the 2012 season and compromised. 

“Just commit this fall,” Swinney said. “If you don’t have a good year, don’t feel like there’s a role for you, we’ll move you back to running back.”

It’s safe to say that Beasley won’t be toting pigskin anytime soon.

The 6’3”, 235-pound junior has emerged as one of the best defensive ends in college football. Entering Saturday’s ACC home game against Wake Forest, Beasley has five sacks, half a sack off the national lead and tops in the ACC.

Thanks to his three-sack effort at N.C. State, he was honored as the ACC’s co-defensive lineman of the week and was also named as the Chuck Bednarik national defensive player of the week.

He has become even more productive than a year ago. In 2012, Beasley had eight sacks in 288 snaps backing up senior starter Malliciah Goodman, averaging a sack every 36 snaps.

Now that Goodman is with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, Beasley is the full-time starter. His five sacks have come in 124 snaps, or one every 24.5 snaps.

“I believe it’s my mindset,” Beasley said. “Coaches told me they were going to be expecting a lot from me this year, wanted me to be an every-down guy. I just worked hard this offseason, showed up in the spring, had a good spring, and had a good camp.”

Swinney calls Beasley’s emergence “a classic example of development and growth.”  While at Adairsville (GA) High School, he played tailback, rushing for 828 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. He was considered one of the nation’s top 40 athlete prospects when he chose Clemson over Alabama and Stanford.

But those skills didn’t immediately translate in college.

“The guy’s got the talent, and maybe it wasn’t all together yet, some guys don’t buy in as quickly as you’d like,” Swinney said. “If you stick with it, you can have success and he was a classic example.”

A year ago, he served as a change-of-pace option behind Goodman, working opposing tackles with quick bursts. Swinney said he was “too light in the britches” to play every down, and he had to “fight just to get in the game.”

In the offseason, he added 10 pounds to what was a 225-pound frame, preparing himself for the rigors of starting and every-down play.

“He poured himself into the offseason and picked up really solid weight,” Swinney said. “He’s gifted in that regard. He’s still emerging. You get another 10, 12 pounds on him, he’ll continue to get better. His fundamentals, technique, his attitude, he’s just a different guy.”

Thanks to his year of experience on the edge, Beasley feels far more confident. He has developed a go-to move called the “Dip and Rip,” and says he modified his technique to out-flank opponents’ expected adjustments.

“Last year I was using my quickness,” he said. “I believe guys watched the film from last year. They know I’m a quick guy and think I’ll play my speed more than my speed to power and my inside move. So I believe keeping the offensive guard and tackles on their toes has helped me a lot.”

He can also impact the run game, using a combination of speed and power against opposing tackles.

“Everyone sees his sack stats, but what he doesn’t get credit for is sticking his nose in there, spilling runs and making some plays other guys don’t make,” Swinney said. “He can run you down from behind. He’s scraping the surface of what he can be.”

And even when he doesn’t make sacks, Beasley affects the game.

“He can get into people without getting hung up,” Swinney said. “He’s creating pressure. He may not make the sack but he’s still getting pressure. The addition of weight, strength, knowledge and attitude and buying into the importance of being a run stopper has helped him.”

Defensive coordinator Brent Venables also sees a changed player.

“The way he’s practiced, his preparation. He’s more mature about everything,” Venables said. “He’s had some success, he likes it, likes the taste of it, and I think he’s smart enough to realize the reason he has success is, he has some ability, but I think the work that’s involved has led to his success.”

With five sacks in three games, Beasley is on pace for 20 sacks in the 12-game regular season. That would shatter Keith Adams’ Clemson single-season mark of 16 set in 1999. Four years ago, Da’Quan Bowers flirted with the mark, finishing with 15.5.

“If there’s a record, I’m trying to break it,” Beasley said. “If there’s a record, I’m going for it.”

*Unless noted, all quotes in this article were gathered by the author.

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