NFL Draft Film Study: Clemson’s Vic Beasley vs. Florida State

Sep 6, 2014; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers defensive end Vic Beasley (3) during the first half against the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

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I highlighted last week the top tier matchup of the week in Florida State left tackle Cameron Erving and Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley, and the matchup — both individually and as a team — lived up to its billing.

For a period in the first half, Beasley was stone-walled. You can see that he’s not having any trouble getting a handle on the snap count. Beasley has always been quick off the snap. The encouraging thing for Erving in all this is, he did a really great job initially of handling Beasley’s speed and quickness off the snap.

As the game progresses, you start to see Beasley flash the technique that is going to have NFL scouts drooling. He is now not only getting around the edge with his speed, he’s using his hands to knock away Erving’s and he’s dipping his shoulder. This particular technique leads to two sacks for Beasley coming from the RDE position and the blind side of the FSU quarterback.

This game was not without flaw from Beasley, however. As the game wears on, its seems Erving (LT, FSU) is winning the one-on-one battles. In overtime, Beasley gets sucked in on what would end up being the game-winning touchdown run by Karlos Williams (RB, FSU). Beasley didn’t keep to his gap and was sucked way too far inside the play and Williams made an easy cut outside where there was absolutely no help for Beasley.

Overall, this game showed a lot of the improvements Beasley has made in his technique since last year. His shoulder dip, hand violence, and instincts off the edge are those of a top 10 pick. His consistency vs. the run needs work, as does his gap discipline (at times) and ability to stay at home and not try to hit home runs on every play.

I feel confident Beasley is going to be a really strong NFL player, and he’ll even probably be a high pick. This game showed you everything you’d want to see from Beasley, and a lot of things you want to see cleaned up. There’s plenty to work on, but he finally got himself out of the FSU shadow, a place where he hasn’t historically played great, and had a big game in a close loss for the Tigers.