Vic Beasley

Early years

Beasley attended Adairsville High School in Adairsville, Georgia, where he was a three-sport standout in football, basketball, and track. He played as running back and linebacker for the Adairsville Tigers high school football team. He was named All-county and All-area in both his junior and senior seasons. As a junior, he totalled 57 tackles, two recovered fumbles and an interception, while also hauling in 15 receptions for over 200 yards. As a senior, he had 120 rushes for 828 yards with seven touchdowns on offense, and had 102 tackles (12 for loss) and an interception on the defensive side of the ball. In addition, he also had seven punt returns for a 17.3-yard average and two touchdowns, and also returned a kickoff return 80 yards for a score. He was named first-team All-state by Associated Press (AP) and Georgia Sportswriters Association. He also played in the Georgia North-South All-Star game, where he had a blocked field goal.

In addition to football, Beasley competed in track & field while at Adairsville, where he competed mainly in sprints and jumps. At the 2010 GHSAA Regional 7-AA Championships, he placed third in the high jump (6-0 or 1.84m) and second in the triple jump (44-0 or 13.44m), while also earning a third-place finish in the 100-meter dash race after running a personal-best time of 11.14 seconds.

Considered a four-star recruit by ESPN.com, Beasley was listed as the No. 19 athlete in the nation in 2010. He was rated as the No. 37 athlete in the nation and No. 37 player in Georgia by Rivals.com. He was considered the No. 34 outside linebacker in the nation and No. 37 player in Georgia by Scout.com. Also an All-Southeast Region pick and the No. 33 player in the state according to SuperPrep. Beasley chose Clemson over Alabama, Auburn, and Stanford.

Freshman season

Upon arriving at Clemson in 2010, Beasley was redshirted. He began working as a tight end. Due to Beasley's size and speed, he was also used as a scout team quarterback in his redshirt year.

Redshirt freshman season

As a redshirt freshman in 2011, Beasley played sparingly. In nine games, he only played 16 snaps and recorded two tackles on the season.

Redshirt sophomore season

As a sophomore in 2012, Beasley recorded 18 tackles and a team-high eight sacks. He was named an Honorable Mention Sophomore All-American by College Football News.

Redshirt junior season

Through the first six games of his junior season in 2013, Beasley led the nation in sacks with 13. Beasley was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection and was named a consensus All-American. Beasley and the Tigers upset #6 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Orange Bowl.

Beasley opted to stay his senior year to finish his education instead of declaring for the 2014 NFL Draft. He was projected to have been picked up in the second round as predicted by the NFL's draft advisory board. Beasley entered the year with 21 career sacks, which was seven away from setting the all-time school record for career which was set by Michael Dean Perry and Gaines Adams at 28. In October, he broke the record. He was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was again a consensus All-American.

2015 season

Beasley was selected with the eighth overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2015 NFL Draft. He was Clemson's highest selected defensive player since the late defensive end Gaines Adams went fourth overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2007.

On June 12, 2015, Beasley agreed to terms his rookie contract.

In Week 2 of his rookie season, Beasley recorded his first career sack, taking down New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, before generating his second sack the following week against Brandon Weeden of the Dallas Cowboys. In Week 16 against the undefeated Carolina Panthers, Beasley made a strip-sack of Cam Newton in the final minutes of the game, securing a 20-13 upset of the Panthers and ruining the Panther's undefeated season.

2016 season

In 2016, Beasley moved from defensive end to the strongside linebacker position. He recorded his first sack of the 2016 season in Week 2 against the Oakland Raiders. Beasley had a breakout game in week 5 of the 2016 season, playing the Denver Broncos, Beasley recorded 8 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. Due to his performance during the 2016 season, Beasley was selected to his first Pro Bowl, but did not participate due to the Falcons making Super Bowl LI. During the Super Bowl, the Falcons led by 25 points, but met one of the most infamous downfalls in sports history as they lost to the New England Patriots by a score of 28–34 in overtime. He was also named First team All-Pro. Beasley ended the season with a league-leading 15.5 sacks.

2017 season

In Week 2 against the Packers, Beasley suffered a hamstring injury, and was ruled out for a month.