Senior Moments: Vic Beasley |
CLEMSON - The 2014 season was special in many ways, and it marked the second complete evolution of seniors to pass through the program that I’ve covered since many of them were in high school. That means I called and talked to them when they were still sophomore and juniors in their hometowns, watched them through a redshirt year (for some) and four years of competition on the highest level of collegiate athletics.
There are times when it’s fun to go back and look at the pics TigerNet had of them in high school, or the freshman pics that were taken when they first arrived on campus and compare them to the senior year pics. It’s obvious how much they grew and matured throughout the process (even if it makes me feel old). Along the way, there were some special moments and as we’ve said so long to this senior class I tried to think of a way to look back at their Tiger careers. As a result, I came up with Senior Moments, where we take a quick look back at the players who have or will be graduating and moving on. If you like it, it’s something we can continue. If you don’t like it, it can disappear. To begin with, however, we’ll start with
Vic Beasley How he got to Clemson Beasley was a 3-star athlete coming out of Adairsville (GA), and Clemson recruited him with the thought he would play tight end as a Tiger. Beasley committed to the Tigers in August of 2009, but it was a soft verbal and he flirted with Auburn until a visit with head coach
Dabo Swinney Beasley’s Clemson career Once he arrived on campus, Beasley was moved from tight end after just a year as the coaches thought he might be a fit at linebacker. That lasted a year, a year in which he had just two tackles in 16 snaps over nine games. Following the 2011 season, Swinney moved Beasley to defensive end and a star was born. During his sophomore campaign, he tallied a team-high eight sacks despite playing just 288 snaps as a backup. He earned Honorable Mention All-American honors from CollegeFootballNews.com, setting the stage for a terrific junior campaign in which he was a Consensus All-American, first-team All-American by Athlon, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, SBNation.com, SI.com, Sporting News, USA Today and Walter Camp, second-team All-American by AP, FWAA and Phil Steele, First-Team All-ACC selection (media, coaches), first-team All-ACC by Athlon, CollegeFootballNews.com, ESPN, Phil Steele and Sporting News . He had 44 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, 12 quarterback pressures, six pass breakups, four caused fumbles and one recovered fumble in 560 snaps over 13 games (13 starts) . In 2014, he was a First-team All-American by AFCA, AP, College Sports Madness and Walter Camp, second-team All-American by Athlon, CBS Sports, FWAA, Lindy’s, Phil Steele, Scout.com and USA Today, honorable mention All-American by SI.com , ACC Defensive Player-of-the-Year (media, coaches), ACC defensive player-of-the-year by Athlon and College Sports Madness, First-Team All-ACC selection (media, coaches), first-team All-ACC by Athlon, College Sports Madness, ESPN and Phil Steele and Senior Bowl invitee. He had 37 tackles, a team-high 21.5 tackles for loss, a team-high 12 sacks, nine quarterback pressures, three pass breakups, two caused fumble, one recovered fumble and a 16-yard fumble return for a touchdown in 557 snaps over 13 games (12 starts). Despite the late start, he ends up first in school history in sacks and ninth in tackles for loss. Now he will take his talents to the NFL. David Hood’s favorite Vic Beasley moment There are way too many to really pick just one, but if I had to pick just one it would be his sack, strip and touchdown against N.C. State in Clemson’s 41-0 victory over the Wolfpack in early October. Beasley tied Michael Dean Perry’s sack record when he sacked Jacoby Brissett and in a tremendous individual effort stripped the ball from the quarterback and recovered the ball in one fell swoop and raced 16 yards to the end zone for the touchdown. I also liked the fact that Vic’s roommate at Clemson – student manager Nick Yarid – would find a picture of each one of Beasley’s career sacks and post them on the wall in their room as motivation for Beasley. I haven’t heard if he found them all, but I hope he did. Nikki Steele’s favorite Vic Beasley moment It has to be Vic’s sack and strip of Dylan Thompson in the win over South Carolina. That was one of the pivotal moments in the game, and Vic told us several times over the last few seasons that every time the Clemson defense was in a bind or needed someone to make a play, his teammates would look his way. For one final moment in Death Valley, Vic answered the call. Beasley’s bio from ClemsonTigers.com Defensive end who emerged as one of the top pass rushers in the country in 2013 and was the same in 2014 ... one of the team’s most athletic players ... had 101 tackles, 52.5 tackles for loss, 33 sacks, 29 quarterback pressures, 11 pass breakups, seven caused fumbles, two recovered fumbles and two touchdowns in 1,421 snaps over 48 games (25 starts) in his career ... first in school history in sacks, fourth in tackles for loss and tied for seventh in caused fumbles ... had at least one sack in eight consecutive games from 2013 (2) to 2014 (6) ... was involved in a tackle for loss in each of his last 15 games ... two-time, first-team All-American ... two-time, First-Team All-ACC selection. 2014: One of three finalists for the Bednarik Award ... one of four finalists for the Lombardi Award ... one of six finalists for the Hendricks Award ... one of nine semifinalists for the Lott Impact Trophy ... first-team All-American by AFCA, AP, College Sports Madness and Walter Camp ... second-team All-American by Athlon, CBS Sports, FWAA, Lindy’s, Phil Steele, Scout.com and USA Today ... honorable mention All-American by SI.com ... ACC Defensive Player-of-the-Year (media, coaches) ... ACC defensive player-of-the-year by Athlon and College Sports Madness ... First-Team All-ACC selection (media, coaches) ... first-team All-ACC by Athlon, College Sports Madness, ESPN and Phil Steele ... Senior Bowl invitee ... had 37 tackles, a team-high 21.5 tackles for loss, a team-high 12 sacks, nine quarterback pressures, three pass breakups, two caused fumble, one recovered fumble and a 16-yard fumble return for a touchdown in 557 snaps over 13 games (12 starts) ... fifth in school history in sacks and ninth in tackles for loss ... third in the nation in tackles for loss per game and eighth in sacks per game ... first in the ACC in sacks per game and tackles for loss per game ... had five tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and two quarterback pressures in 52 snaps at No. 12 Georgia on Aug. 30 ... had one sack in 19 snaps against SC State on Sept. 6 ... had four tackles, two sacks and a pass breakup in 53 snaps at No. 1 Florida State on Sept. 20 ... had three tackles and a game-high two sacks in 58 snaps against North Carolina on Sept. 27; named team defensive player-of-the-game ... had one sack, a caused fumble and 16-yard fumble return for a touchdown in 31 snaps against NC State on Oct. 4 ... had two tackles for loss, one sack and a pass breakup in 48 snaps against Louisville on Oct. 11 ... had two tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in 43 snaps at Boston College on Oct. 18 ... had three tackles and one tackle for loss in 43 snaps against Syracuse on Oct. 25 ... had one tackle for loss in 34 snaps at Wake Forest on Nov. 6 ... had three tackles and a game-high two tackles for loss in 52 snaps at No. 23 Georgia Tech on Nov. 15 ... had one sack in 35 snaps against Georgia State on Nov. 22 ... had six tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and a caused fumble in 50 snaps against South Carolina on Nov. 29; named ACC Defensive Lineman-of-the-Week; named team co-defensive player-of-the-game ... had five tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack and a pass breakup in 39 snaps against No. 24 Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 29; named team co-defensive player-of-the-game ... Bednarik Award Watch List member in the preseason ... Hendricks Award Watch List member in the preseason ... Lombardi Award Watch List member in the preseason ... Nagurski Trophy Watch List member in the preseason ... Walter Camp Award Watch List member in the preseason ... No. 9 player in the nation in the preseason by NFLDraftScout.com ... No. 1 defensive end in the nation in the preseason by Lindy’s ... preseason first-team All-American by Athlon, CBS Sports, Lindy’s, Phil Steele, SI.com and Sporting News ... preseason ACC Player-of-the-Year by Sporting News ... preseason First-Team All-ACC (media) ... preseason first-team All-ACC by Athlon, CBS Sports, ESPN, Phil Steele and Sporting News. 2013: One of six finalists for the Hendricks Award ... one of 12 semifinalists for the Lombardi Award ... one of 16 semifinalists for the Bednarik Award ... Consensus All-American ... first-team All-American by Athlon, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, SBNation.com, SI.com, Sporting News, USA Today and Walter Camp ... second-team All-American by AP, FWAA and Phil Steele ... First-Team All-ACC selection (media, coaches) ... first-team All-ACC by Athlon, CollegeFootballNews.com, ESPN, Phil Steele and Sporting News ... had 44 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, 12 quarterback pressures, six pass breakups, four caused fumbles and one recovered fumble in 560 snaps over 13 games (13 starts) ... led the team in tackles for loss, sacks and caused fumbles ... third in school history in sacks and eighth in tackles for loss ... third in the nation in tackles for loss, tied for third in sacks and tied for 10th in caused fumbles ... first in the ACC in sacks, tied for first in caused fumbles and second in tackles for loss ... had a game-high two sacks in 47 snaps against No. 5 Georgia on Aug. 31; it was his first career start ... had six tackles, three sacks, two pass breakups and a caused fumble in 54 snaps at NC State on Sept. 19; named Bednarik Award National Defensive Player-of-the-Week; named ACC Co-Defensive Lineman-of-the-Week; named ACC defensive player-of-the-week by Athlon; named team defensive player-of-the-game ... had two tackles, one sack, a pass breakup and caused fumble in 29 snaps against Wake Forest on Sept. 28 ... had seven tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks in 43 snaps at Syracuse on Oct. 5; named ACC Defensive Lineman-of-the-Week; named ACC defensive player-of-the-week by Athlon; named team co-defensive player-of-the-game ... had six tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, a pass breakup and a 13-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Boston College on Oct. 12; named national defensive lineman-of-the-week by CFPA; named ACC Defensive Lineman-of-the-Week; named ACC defensive player-of-the-week by Athlon; received the Leather Helmet Award as the game MVP ... had four tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, two quarterback pressures and a caused fumble in 51 snaps at Maryland on Oct. 26; named team co-defensive player-of-the-game ... had two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and two quarterback pressures in 45 snaps against Georgia Tech on Nov. 14 ... had six tackles, two sacks and a caused fumble in 65 snaps at No. 9 South Carolina on Nov. 30 ... had five tackles, a game-high four tackles for loss, one sack and two quarterback pressures in 54 snaps against No. 6 Ohio State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3; his four tackles for loss set a Tiger bowl record ... Bednarik Award Watch List member in the preseason ... preseason second-team All-ACC by Lindy’s ... preseason third-team All-ACC by Athlon and Phil Steele. 2012: Honorable mention sophomore All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com ... had 18 tackles, eight tackles for loss, a team-high eight sacks (fourth-most in the ACC and the only freshman or sophomore in the top 10), eight quarterback pressures, two pass breakups and one caused fumble in 288 snaps over 13 games ... had his first career sack in 12 snaps against No. 25 Auburn at Atlanta, Ga. on Sept. 1; the sack came on third down on Auburn’s last drive and thwarted a potential game-tying drive; on first down on the final drive, he had a quarterback pressure that led to an incompletion ... had two tackles and one sack in 25 snaps at Boston College on Sept. 29 ... had three tackles, a game-high two sacks and two quarterback pressures in 30 snaps at Wake Forest on Oct. 25; named team co-defensive player-of-the-game ... had two tackles, one sack and a pass breakup in 34 snaps at Duke on Nov. 3 ... had five tackles, a game-high three sacks and a caused fumble in 44 snaps against NC State on Nov. 17; named ACC Co-Defensive Lineman-of-the-Week; named team co-defensive player-of-the-game ... had a game-tying-high two sacks in the Spring Game. 2011: Had two tackles in 16 snaps over nine games ... Clemson had a 9-0 record in his nine games ... played two snaps against Troy on Sept. 3; it was his first career game ... had a special teams tackle against Wofford on Sept. 10 ... had one tackle in 10 snaps against No. 3 Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game on Dec. 3. 2010: Redshirted. Before Clemson: Rated as the No. 16 athlete in the nation by ESPN ... No. 37 athlete in the nation and No. 37player in Georgia by Rivals.com ... No. 34 outside linebacker in the nation and No. 37 player in Georgia by Scout.com ... No. 33 player in Georgia by SuperPrep ... All-Southeast Region pick by PrepStars ... played running back in high school; had 120 rushes for 828 yards and seven scores as a senior ... had seven punt returns for a 17.3-yard average and two touchdowns ... had just one kickoff return, but he took it 80 yards for a score ... had 102 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and an interception ... played in the Georgia North-South All-Star game; had a blocked field goal ... first-team all-state by AP and Georgia Sportswriter Association ... named all-county and all-area as a junior and senior ... had 57 tackles, two recovered fumbles and an interception as a junior ... had 15 receptions for 200 yards as a junior ... played high school basketball and AAU basketball ... averaged a double-double for the AAU Georgia All-Stars ... coached by Jim Kremer at Adairsville High School ... recruited by Billy Napier ... chose Clemson over Alabama, Auburn and Stanford. Personal: His father, Victor, played football at Auburn (1982-84) ... graduated Aug. 8, 2014 with a degree in sociology ... born July 8, 1992.
Vic Beasley
RS Sr. Defensive End
#3 6-2, 236
Adairsville, GA
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. 
Dabo Swinney
Head Coach
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and offensive coordinator Billy Napier in late January. It’s interesting to note that Beasley – following a visit to Clemson earlier that month – said that getting a degree was his first priority. That came true following the 2013 season when Beasley turned down a chance at the NFL so he could return for his senior season and to get his degree. 
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