On Sunday, Sept. 10, Maryland native Bryan Bresee will play in his first NFL game after being selected by the New Orleans Saints with the 29th pick of the 2023 draft.
It’s been a long road for Bresee to get to where he is today, and without the backing of his family, he may not have gotten there. Bresee will be without one of his strongest supporters as he starts a new chapter in his life. His sister, Ella, passed away nearly a year ago at the age of 15 after a battle with brain cancer.
“It’s definitely difficult,” Bresee said on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 5. “Ella was always my biggest fan and biggest supporter, regardless of what she was going through. I know she’d be super proud of where I am now and what’s happened over the last few months. Just continuing to play for her and in her honor is a big deal for me.”
Bresee credits his parents for his athletic ability. Both played sports in college. His mother, Meghan, played basketball. His father, Rich, played football. Bresee’s parents noticed his potential when he was in elementary and middle school.
“I think from when I was in youth ball, I was always a lot taller than everybody but always had to make weight while playing in little league,” said Bresee, now 6-foot-5 and 304 pounds. “I was super skinny, played quarterback and [defensive tackle]. As time went on, my dad and coaches started to see a difference in me than anyone else — just bigger, stronger, faster than a lot of other people.”
After starting his high school career at Urbana High School, Bresee played the next three years at Damascus High School. Bresee racked up plenty of accolades at Damascus, including Gatorade Maryland Football Player of the Year and Maryland Defensive Player of the Year in 2018. He was the consensus top prospect nationally in the Class of 2020, according to 247Sports.
Bresee’s strong play in high school landed him at Clemson, where he once again took over, winning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020 and earning a second-team All-ACC selection in 2022. He played in 26 games for the Tigers from 2020-2022, totaling 50 tackles (15 for loss).
Bresee was the second player from Clemson taken in the 2023 NFL Draft, one spot behind teammate Myles Murphy. The NFL brings different obstacles than what Bresee has gone through in the past, but drawing on the high-school-to-college transition has helped.
“Even from when I was early on in Clemson, just getting to school there and it being such a change of pace on the football field from high school to college definitely helped me prepare for this step, from college to the NFL,” Bresee said.
Bresee said it’s special to represent Damascus and to show players that they don’t need to go to the best high school program to stand out.
“It’s pretty special,” Bresee said. “Not a ton have come out of Damascus and made it to the NFL. I think especially for the guys coming through there now, knowing you don’t have to go to a powerhouse private school program coming out of middle school. You can do it from anywhere. If you can play, people are going to find you. You can do whatever you want.”
For more from Bresee, listen to the full interview here:
Michael C. Hebert/New Orleans Saints