Of course, Vic Burley is going to be a game-time decision to suit up for the Clemson Tigers on Saturday night versus the Virginia Tech Hokies. The consistently unreliable defensive tackle was a late addition to the ACC injury report earlier in the week. Burley missed the first two games of the season due to an indefinite suspension. He has only a fumble recovery and a sack over four games.
Given that it is truly a 50-50 proposition of whether he will play in this one, expect two things to happen for the Clemson defense. The first will be that if he does go, he is not going to be getting his share of 10 snaps or so. The second would have to be that the quartet of Amare Adams, Andy Burburija, Darien Mayo, and Champ Thompson have now become more valuable. The same thing applies to Kourtney Kelly.
Simply put, Clemson is playing for its College Football Playoff livelihood on Saturday night. A win over Virginia Tech would improve the Tigers to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in ACC play, while a loss would give them three on the season and likely out of the running to get to Charlotte. The fact that Burley cannot be counted on heading into the most critical game of Clemson's season the rest of the way is telling.
Final availability report update: Clemson backup DT Vic Burley is listed as a “game-time decision” for tonight’s Virginia Tech game. Burley was the only notable lingering injury for Tigers this week
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) October 24, 2026
Tom Allen will have to find other ways to pressure Ethan Grunkemeyer
For as great as it was to see Burley get his first sack of the season last week against Charleston Southern, it was in extreme garbage time against FCS competition. Burley was widely seen as the most talented defensive tackle on Clemson's roster coming in, but a late-summer arrest and two-game suspension have him buried on the Tigers' defensive tackle depth chart at the halfway point.
The good news is Tom Allen has had nearly two months to sort out his defensive tackle rotation. Adams and Burburija emerged as Week 1 starters, mostly out of necessity. Not to say they have struggled in their roles, but adding Mayo and Thompson into the mix as co-starters really adds to the MASH unit element of this position group's game. They try so hard, but are usually up against it.
Right now, the Tigers will need to play cohesively in all three levels of their defense to be able to keep Virginia Tech at bay. This also means Will Heldt needs to show up in this game with a key sack or two on Ethan Grunkemeyer. If he cannot bring the pressure, then Allen should look to London Merritt or even Caden Story to wreak havoc in the Hokies' backfield. They must keep the Hokies off-schedule.
With Burley questionable coming into game day, and a game-time decision hours before kickoff, anything he does for the Tigers in this game should be seen as an added bonus, and nothing more. Fortunately for the Tigers, Allen is an elite defensive mind. His defense has shown up big time whenever the Tigers need it to. Regardless, the offense will also have to make some plays to win, too.
It would only be fitting if Burley finds his way to get in the middle of a big play for Clemson in Week 8.
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