“Defense wins championships,” as the saying goes, and Clemson has assembled a championship-caliber collection of defensive talent in its 2020 signing class – especially up front.
On Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, the Tigers inked four defensive linemen ranked in the top 50 of the ESPN 300 and became the first program to sign four top-50 defensive linemen in a single class since the inception of the ESPN 300 in 2006.
“Unbelievable,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said of the historic D-line class during the Tigers’ National Signing Day Show. “Are you kidding me? I just grin.”
Clemson signed three defensive linemen rated as five-stars by the 247Sports Composite – Bryan Bresee, Myles Murphy and Demonte Capehart – and also signed four-star defensive tackle Tre Williams.
Bresee, Murphy and Capehart are all ranked among the top 35 prospects in the 2020 class regardless of position by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports, while Williams is a top-60 national recruit per ESPN and 247Sports.
Bresee and Murphy are both unanimous top-10 national prospects according to the three major services, and Bresee is ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the country by Rivals and 247Sports.
Bresee (6-5, 290) concluded his career at Damascus High School (Damascus, Md.) with 134 career tackles, including 80.5 for loss, with 35 sacks. He will play in the All-American Bowl on Jan. 4 in San Antonio.
Bresee also played basketball as a junior and averaged 13.7 points and 11.9 rebounds.
“The bell cow, Bryan Bresee, he’s what it’s all about,” Venables said. “Coach Bates and I, Coach Swinney, I saw him play basketball three times. There’s nobody that likes to compete more than Bryan Bresee. He’ll compete with himself, he’ll compete with another D-tackle, he’ll compete against the offensive linemen, he’ll compete against the center of the opposing basketball team’s best guy — he’s just an unbelievable competitor.
“Very natural in his skill set. Terrific athlete. Can play inside, can play outside. But he’s got a motor that won’t quit. Just relentless, he’s passionate, he’s got his house in order, he’s a good student. He’s just again a person of excellence.”
From left, Clemson defensive linemen commits Demonte Capehart, Myles Murphy, Tre Williams, and Bryan Bresee Sunday, June 30, 2019 at The Opening in Frisco, TX. Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider
Murphy, one of the top defensive ends in the nation, is a consensus five-star prospect by every service and ranked as high as the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2020 class by ESPN.
As a senior at Hillgrove High School (Powder Springs, Ga.) in 2019, Murphy posted 53 tackles, including 19 tackles for loss, 10.5 of which were sacks.
Murphy (6-5, 265) will join Bresee at the All-American Bowl.
“Myles Murphy, No. 1 player in Georgia. An absolute freakazoid,” Venables said. “Great family, incredible family, and very bright, incredibly talented. Comes from Hillgrove, another top-notch powerhouse. He’s been very well-coached and played against the best competition in high school football. He’s going to come in here game ready as well. Very developed fundamentally, instinctual and got great size and speed.”
Capehart, meanwhile, is ranked as high as the No. 24 overall prospect for 2020 according to the 247Sports Composite. He played three years at Hartsville High School (Hartsville, S.C.) before transferring to IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) for his senior season.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound defensive tackle will participate in the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 2 in Orlando, Florida.
“(Hartsville) Coach (Jeff) Calabrese did an amazing job raising him up,” Venables said. “And really the Hartsville family — it’s really a community that helped raise him up. I know he went to IMG his last year. They do a great job there too, but Hartsville is really responsible for getting Demonte to Clemson. He’s just kind of scratching the surface on what he’s going to be.”
Like Capehart, Williams (6-3, 300) will suit up in the Under Armour All-America Game.
The No. 4 defensive tackle and No. 39 overall prospect for 2020 according to ESPN, Williams helped St. John’s College High School (Washington, D.C.) go 9-1 in 2018 and rank 20th in the nation (second in the D.C. area) by MaxPreps.
“Tre comes from an incredible program at St. John’s,” Venables said. “They run their program like a college program. He’s got a little shoulder thing he’s going to have cleaned up, but he’ll be fully released by the time he gets here in June.”
Williams will enroll at Clemson in June, while Bresee, Murphy and Capehart are all mid-year enrollees who will arrive on campus in early January to begin their college careers.
“That group right there is pretty special,” Venables said. “They’ve got length, speed, size, strength, and now we just got to get them the knowledge they need to be able to transition, and we expect that to happen quickly.”
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