It was only a matter of time before Dabo Swinney came to his senses about Vic Burley's suspension. While it was understandable to keep him away from the team for a bit, the Markus Strong injury has certainly expedited Burley's return to the Clemson defensive line. Although he is not going to play on Saturday night versus Georgia Southern, do not be surprised if Burley suits up against North Carolina.
Swinney addressed Burley's status with the team during media availability earlier in the week. “He has done everything that we asked him to do,”Swinney said. “He has handled it the right way. There are consequences for his actions, so he has owned that. He has earned the opportunity to come back.”
It may have come sooner than Swinney wanted, but he does not have much of a choice in the matter.
With the Oklahoma transfer now out for the season, Amare Adams, junior college transfer Andy Burburija, and Champ Thompson will need to hold serve in the trenches until Burley is able to return to the team. Given how important the ACC opener versus North Carolina is looking to be, Swinney needs to let bygones be bygones and re-insert Burley into the starting lineup versus the Tar Heels.
NEWS: Dabo Swinney says that Vic Burley will be reinstated from his suspension soon.
— Grayson Mann (@gray_mann21) September 8, 2026
He won’t be available for Georgia Southern this week, but he will return for North Carolina.
Clemson’s DT room desperately needs reinforcements.
Dabo Swinney is ready for Vic Burley be part of this Clemson team again
Burley was suspended indefinitely by Swinney after being arrested over the summer for disorderly conduct. He was able to reach an agreement with the Clemson University Police Department to have his case conditionally discharged. "Burley will be required to take multiple classes, complete 24 hours of community service, and will be under court supervision for six months." His return is now imminent.
Frankly, it could not be coming at a better time. Clemson should be able to get past Georgia Southern on Saturday night without Burley in the fold. However, North Carolina looks to be much improved under Bill Belichick this year. It may be more of a defensive-minded team this season in Chapel Hill, but we all know how much Belichick loves to run the ball. Clemson could not stop LSU whatsoever.
Even if Burley only has 15 career tackles over 21 games the last two years, the Clemson defensive line needs him in the worst way possible. LSU averaged 5.3 yards per carry in Week 1. Both Dilin Jones and Sam Leavitt each had over 100 rushing yards and two touchdown runs apiece to make the game a laugher. Stopping the run could be a season-long issue for Clemson, but Burley should help.
More importantly, it does seem as though both Swinney and Burley realize that they need each other. Without Swinney's blessing, Burley was not going to play at all this season. Given how badly Clemson looked along the defensive line without him, Swinney needs Burley to come in and provide a spark for its rushing defense. Otherwise, we could be looking at an incredibly long season for the Tigers here.
Burley is not a panacea for Clemson, but he can lift the Tigers in the area they need the most help in.
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