Clemson defensive star Bryan Bresee breaks down factors, timing for NFL decision

Bryan Bresee has a big decision to make.

But he also has an Orange Bowl to play in.

And despite being billed as a potential first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Clemson’s star junior defensive tackle said he’s locked in on the latter task.

“I’ve been focused on Tennessee and that’s all it’s been so far,” Bresee told reporters Wednesday in a pre-Orange Bowl media session. “When the season comes to a close, I’ll weigh my options and talk to my family and my coaches and teammates and figure it out.”

Bresee, a former No. 1 overall recruit who’s earned All-ACC honors every year of his Clemson career, is widely regarded as a top 15 NFL Draft talent.

Pro Football Focus ranks the third-year defensive tackle as the sixth-best available prospect in the draft, and recent mock drafts have him going seventh overall to the Detroit Lions (PFF), 10th overall to the Arizona Cardinals (ESPN) and 11th to the Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS Sports).

But Bresee also has two remaining years of eligibility with the Tigers and said he sees the benefits of returning to Clemson for his 2023 senior season after what he described as a “really tough” junior year.

College football underclassmen such as Bresee have until Jan. 16 to notify the NFL they’re entering the draft pool, per NFL.com. Two of Bresee’s Clemson teammates, junior defensive end Myles Murphy and junior linebacker Trenton Simpson, have already declared for the draft.

Bresee said his decision won’t come until after the Orange Bowl, which pits No. 6 Tennessee (10-2) against No. 7 Clemson (11-2) in a matchup of one-time College Football Playoff contenders. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. Friday from Hard Rock Stadium.

He hasn’t received a draft grade or initiated that process, emphasizing to coach Dabo Swinney and the rest of the Clemson staff he wants to “wait until after the season to worry about it.”

’Incredibly talented’

Bresee’s NFL potential is obvious. When healthy, he’s a game-changer who can play as a tackle or an edge rusher, swallow up offensive linemen and get his hands on the ball at an impressive rate for a 6-foot-5, 305-pound defender.

That was evident during his 2020 true freshman season, when Bresee — 247Sports’ No. 1 composite recruit out of Damascus (Md.) High School — had 23 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, two pass deflections and a forced fumble.

He was named the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and a first team all-conference pick as Clemson won a sixth straight ACC title and reached a sixth straight College Football Playoff.

“His numbers won’t wow you … but when he’s 100 percent, Bresee is an incredibly talented run stuffer with the length and bend to make a big impact and play a role as an interior pass rusher,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay wrote earlier this month.

Bresee’s next two seasons have been productive — third team All-ACC in 2021, second team All-ACC in 2022 — but also full of setbacks both on and off the field.

He played in just three games as a sophomore before tearing his ACL midway through a game against N.C. State and undergoing season-ending surgery. Bresee missed Clemson’s last nine games and didn’t return to practice in full until May 2022.

This fall, Bresee also lost his younger sister, Ella, who died in September at age 15 after battling medulloblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer, for 17 months. Clemson had planned to honor Ella during its Sept 10 home opener vs. Furman, but she suffered a medical setback that week.

Bresee announced his sister’s passing on Sept. 15 and missed Clemson’s next game. He returned to the field the following week, knowing that Ella, a huge Clemson football fan whose cancer battle prompted the team to embrace the mantra “Ella Strong” throughout the 2021 and 2022 seasons, would have wanted him to.

Bresee said Wednesday he thinks about Ella “every day. And before every game, I’m talking to her. I just think she’s with me all the time.”

‘The best decision’

After returning to the team in late September, Bresee also missed two games in October with a kidney infection that, at one point, caused him to gain about 45 extra pounds in water weight and a third game in November with a combination of strep throat and pneumonia.

Bresee said he didn’t feel fully healthy until Clemson’s Dec. 3 ACC championship game against North Carolina. Entering the Orange Bowl, he’s played in nine of Clemson’s 13 games this year (six starts) and recorded 13 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

“Going through illnesses and loss of a family member and having to sit out, I’m sure coming back would be good just to get another year on my résumé,” Bresee said. “And if that’s what I decide, then that’ll be the best decision. But if not, you know, I’m sure there’s something else that I’ve talked about with my coaches and family and teammates. And so we’ll see.”

Murphy, a Clemson defensive end who’s also projected as a first-round pick, opted out of the Orange Bowl earlier this month. Simpson, the Clemson linebacker, will also miss the bowl with a short-term ankle injury. Bresee said he “never thought” about opting out of the game.

After the Orange Bowl’s over, though, he knows he’ll be on the clock for a major Clemson decision: Stay or go? When the time comes, he’ll tackle it head on.

“In all seriousness, I just haven’t thought about it,” Bresee said. “I’m just focused on the game. … When the season’s over, I’ll just have a little bit of time to decide on that with my coaches and family and everybody in my circle.”

2022 Orange Bowl game, TV info

Who: No. 6 Tennessee (10-2) vs. No. 7 Clemson (11-2)

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.

TV: ESPN

Betting line: Clemson by 5.5 points