After missing the first two games of the season because of an indefinite suspension, Vic Burley made his return to the Clemson sidelines. While he only played nine snaps versus the North Carolina Tar Heels, he made his presence felt by way of a clutch fumble recovery. As he reintegrates himself into Clemson's defensive line rotation, Tom Allen may have another piece he can rely on in the front seven.
With Clemson's upcoming road game at Cal on Friday night, it may be more important than ever for Burley to take on an even bigger role on this defense. As the defensive backfield rounds into form, Clemson needs to become more dynamic in the trenches to have any real shot of climbing up the ACC hierarchy. A big road win over Cal could most certainly do that, but it is not going to come easy.
As long as Burley stays on Dabo Swinney's good side, we could be seeing more great plays like this.
Vic Burley recovers the fumble.
— Grayson Mann (@gray_mann21) September 19, 2026
Clemson has life once again. pic.twitter.com/AJLjYCJhGC
Vic Burley getting more snaps will only help Clemson's defensive line out
While it was more positive than not in last week's big win over UNC, the same problem remains for Clemson's defense. Against Power Four competition, it struggles mightily against the run. Although Clemson held Georgia Southern to 22 yards on the ground in Week 2, it gave up 309 to LSU in Week 1 and 214 to UNC last week. Clemson tackles well, but it can't keep giving up over five yards per carry.
With Burley getting increasingly reacclimated to the defensive line rotation, every snap he gets will be to the benefit of the entire unit. Losing Markus Strong for the season does not help, but regaining Burley is a huge positive. He is the most talented player up front. If he can be an effective space eater to allow Sammy Brown and Jeremiah Alexander to make tackles behind him, then that would be great.
Right now, Clemson will be a defensive-minded team for as long as Chad Morris and the rest of the offense try to figure it out with true freshman Tait Reynolds at starting at quarterback. In time, the offense may have to carry its weight because all the pressure is on Clemson's defense and special teams to make it work for the time being. Reintegrating Burley into the mix does solve some issues.
By having a fresher defensive line rotation, Clemson can play with even more confidence up front. After only playing nine snaps against North Carolina in his season debut, we can only hope Burley plays way more than that against the California Golden Bears. This is important because Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is far better a passer than Billy Edwards Jr., who Clemson befuddled last week.
In short, Burley needs to earn his way back into the Clemson defensive line rotation quickly, mostly because he has to. The ACC can be a grind at times. Clemson cannot afford to surrender over 200 yards on the ground when facing every Power Four opponent it faces the rest of the way. Fortunately, Swinney seems to believe in him after his arrest. More importantly, Allen has to count on him as well.
Clemson is not going to achieve all it can defensively this season without Burley being a big part of it.
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