Five-star defensive tackle set to take official visits, including Clemson

Burley will give Clemson one of his five official visits.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat May 21 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

One of Clemson’s top defensive line targets for the 2023 recruiting class is to take an official visit with the Tigers over the summer.

Defensive tackle Vic Burley (6-4 278) is a 5-star out of Warner Robins (GA) who has both of the Palmetto State schools on his short list. From that list he’s decided on five official visits. Clemson is on that list and South Carolina is not.

Burley said he has set official visits to Tennessee May 27th, Michigan State June 3rd, Georgia June 10th and Ohio State June 24th. His Clemson visit, he said, would come in July or in September.

Clemson defensive line coach Nick Eason has been recruiting Burley since his days at Auburn. Defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin also has been involved and the two are in regular contact with Burley.

“My conversations with Clemson really haven’t been about recruiting. They just check in on me and make sure everything is OK,” Burley said. “They will come see me at school. They show consistency. They occasionally talk about football, but they are just there and talk about life.”

Burley is a defensive tackle by trade, and he said the Tigers like him for that. But he has the skills of an edge rusher, and there’s been some talk of him as that with the Tigers.

“They’re really saying I’m an interior player,” Burley said. “Coach (Lemanski) Hall will make some jokes saying they could use me on the outside, too. But they say I fit the scheme interior-wise.”

Burley, who said he does not have a favorite, plans to wait until the fall on a decision. The others on his previous short list were Florida, Texas A&M, Florida State, Oklahoma, LSU and Miami.

Burley has picked up offers from all of the major schools across the country, and success away from the football field will be a major factor in Burley’s decision.

“Clemson introduced me into the internships and the different programs they offer,” he said. “That really opened my eyes with the 100-percent job placement and the PAW Journey. That was a great addition to all of the other things I saw. They kind of set that standard for all of the other colleges for me.”

What makes Burley special?

“On the field, I feel like I’m more of a team leader,” Burley said. “I try to motivate my teammates to do their best on and off the field. As a player, I think I have good footwork, but I know it needs to get better. I have great hand placement, great speed, and great power, but there’s always room to improve for me. It feels good to be one of the top guys on team’s board, but I don’t feel like I’ve made it yet. I feel like I have a bigger potential that I haven’t reached yet.”

Last season Burley made 54 tackles with 14 tackles for loss and five sacks.