Clemson Football: Bryan Bresee to enter NFL Draft

Many Clemson football fans, including myself, were hopeful that defensive lineman Bryan Bresee would return to Clemson and anchor the defensive line for the 2023 season.

Such will not be the case as Bresee announced via social media that he would be entering the 2023 NFL Draft.

While I’m disappointed as a Clemson fan, this is Bresee’s decision and I respect that and certainly understand and respect his decision to play at the next level.

If in fact Bresee goes in the top half of the first round as many project, the money will be life-changing for someone who has dreamed of playing in the NFL for most of his life.

Some fans will say he needs to come back to Clemson, but he plays a position that is rife with injury concerns, as we saw on the first play from scrimmage in the Orange Bowl, not to mention during Bresee’s three years with the Clemson program.

Bresee was the top overall recruit in 247sports.com class of 2020 with a rating of .9995, ranking as the third-highest Clemson recruit ever, behind only Trevor Lawrence and Da’Quan Bowers.

After a solid true freshman season when Bresee accumulated 33 tackles (6.5 for loss), 4.0 sacks, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a safety in 432 snaps in12 games, Bresee saw action in only 4 games in 2021 due to a knee injury.

Clemson football defensive lineman Bryan Bresee had a challenging 2022 season

The 2022 season brought additional injuries and incredible personal challenges with the death of his younger sister, Ella during the season.

Bresee totaled 2 tackles, including a sack, in Clemson’s Orange Bowl loss to Tennessee last Friday.

While this does open up a scholarship for the Tigers moving forward, this is a big, if expected, loss for the 2023 season.

Bresee is the third starter on this year’s defense to announce their draft intentions, with the other two being Myles Murphy and Trenton Simpson.

There are several other members of the Clemson team that are mulling the decision on the NFL Draft and players have until January 16th to declare for the draft.