Spring crucial for Bryan Bresee's development on defensive line

CLEMSON — The irony of Clemson’s loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals for Bryan Bresee?

The ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year had his best game — statistically — of his freshman year against the Buckeyes. He finished with five total tackles and a sack, but his performance still couldn’t secure the Tigers a trip to the national championship game.

“Nobody wants to end a season like that,” Bresee said earlier this week. “It was definitely a tough game for everybody. It motivates us. We are able to get back out here and work on things we didn’t do well last year and just try to improve on everything. Spring is a really good time for that. You don’t have to game plan or anything like that. So it’s good to just really work on technique and get your plays down.”

Bresee, a defensive tackle, was a five-star recruit and the top-ranked player in the 2020 class. He finished his high school career with 134 career tackles — 80.5 of which were tackles for loss.

The Damascus, Maryland, native saw action in all 11 of the Tigers’ games in his first campaign in Clemson. But Clemson’s defensive unit struggled in the CFP semifinals, allowing the Buckeyes to finish with 639 total yards. Now in the midst of spring ball, Bresee is working closely to improve his technique and make adjustments for his second season.

“I definitely have to improve in the run game and work on my technique in general,” he said. “College football is a lot faster than high school, and I definitely need to start reading backfield sets better and a lot of pre-snap stuff. And like I said, my technique — I need to improve getting things down quicker.”

Bryan Bresee is working on his technique this spring. (Photo by Stephen Lew/Getty Images)

By the end of the 2020 season, Clemson listed Bresee at starting defensive tackle in its 4-3 defense. The 6-foot-5, 300-pounder has drawn comparisons to former Tiger Christian Wilkins, who was drafted 13th overall in the 2019 draft by the Miami Dolphins.

Wilkins finished his Clemson career with 192 total tackles with 40.5 tackles for loss. Through a season, Bresee has 23 total tackles and 4.5 tackles for a loss.

Finishing this spring strong can set him up to be on Wilkins’ trajectory come the fall.

“Most of it was in the run game, like footwork, hand placement, reading offensive linemen and knowing what to do on certain blocks they send at me,” said Bresee of the technique he is working to improve. “In the offseason, I’ve been taking a lot of those tasks on — just trying to get my feet right whenever we are going live, getting my hand placement correct. I’ve been working on getting a lot faster and stronger in the weight room.”