Bryan Bresee, the nation’s No. 1 sophomore, is ready to visit UGA

Bryan Bresee has earned the right for his name to be associated in headlines describing the nation’s top prospect for 2020.

The Maryland resident rates as the nation’s No. 1 sophomore per 247Sports. The 5-star strong-side DE will visit Clemson and UGA this weekend.

Visits coming up March 3rd Clemson , March 4th Georgia!

— Bryan Bresee (@bryan_bresee) February 20, 2018

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound prospect has quite the background. He has the innate athleticism to have played quarterback in middle school. Bresee just did so while wearing No. 44 one season.

He feels he can still sling the pigskin about 55 yards. Those past reps at QB might be why his ball get off looks so strong for a 265-pound sophomore. But there’s more to it than that.

Both of his parents were college athletes. His father played football at James Madison and his mother played college basketball. Bresee said his sister also plays college basketball at George Washington.

That’s the recipe for a 5-star defensive lineman.

He comes across as a very purposeful young man. The two trips he is planning to the Deep South show he’s serious about his options. Does he already have a timeline in place?

“I’ve talked to my parents and a couple of coaches about it,” Bresee said. “There’s no like set date yet. When I make my final decision, it will probably be like my senior year. But it will probably be at the end of next season when I start cutting it down and making a top list.”

The opportunity is there for him to enroll early out of Damascus High School in Maryland. It sounds like he could follow that path.

What does Bryan Bresee think about UGA?

The Bulldogs might have an unlikely ally here. Tray Scott and Kirby Smart must be living right.

“I have a neighbor that actually goes to Georgia,” Bresee said. “She loves it down there so she’s actually given me a little bit of input on it. Everything I have heard is pretty good. I’m really excited to go see it.”

Bresee talks to the coaches at Georgia and Penn State a lot. Maryland is naturally digging hard to try to keep him from leaving the state. Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma are in the picture, too.

He’s trying to get his arms around those attractive options.

“It is really hard (to get a sense of it all) until you really visit all the schools and get to meet everybody and see how the system is,” Bresee said. “I’ve only visited like five or six schools now so I haven’t been able to really decide that yet.”

His visit history includes treks to Alabama, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Virginia Tech. Building the right relationships with the coaches will be a major factor in his decision.

“Everything with these colleges will change with the weight room and the new facilities,” he said. “But the relationship you build with the coaches will determine whether you really like the school or not.”

He said he’s willing to go anywhere to find that. The location will not be a factor.

“This is all pretty new to me,” Bresee said. “Trying to meet all these coaches. Getting to know all these schools have shown me every school is different. Once I visit Georgia, I’ll have a better understanding of it. But I’m excited.”

Scott is his primary recruiter.

“I’ve only talked to him on the phone a couple of times but I like him a lot,” Bresee said. “My parents talk to him. We like him.”

Bresee sounds like an unofficial visit vet. He aims to meet everyone. Training staff. The sports and conditioning staff.

“The more people you meet, the better feel you get for the school,” he said.

He feels Penn State is recruiting him the hardest right now. The Nittany Lions come up in two huge games he’s seen so far. The first one of those was Penn State at Ohio State. The second was when Michigan traveled to Happy Valley for a “White Out.”

“Those were pretty intense,” he said.

He’s already planning to visit Oklahoma for a game this fall. Maryland and Penn State will likely get more visits, too. If the Clemson and UGA visits go well, those schools could earn a return trip.

Crabcakes and football: That’s what Bryan Bresee does 

There’s a toughness factor here to point out. The former basketball player fractured one of his vertebrae last season. He returned later in the year for a 14-0 state championship team.

He missed three games. Three games.

“I came back into the season because we were getting into the playoffs and stuff,” he said. “I jumped back in early but it has healed well after the season. I’m all better now.”

He hails from a region of the state that really values football.

“I think in Damascus here they’ve been to four straight state championships and we’ve won the past three,” he said. “I think we’ve made the playoffs like the last 22 years in a row. It is just a big deal in this community.”

The JJ Watt parallel is starting to catch on. There is his size to consider plus his lofty ranking and that inherent skill set.

Bresee is Nike verified with a short shuttle time of 4.21 seconds and a vertical leap of 28.7 inches. He threw the Power ball 36 feet. His “Sparq” rating of 90.75 is pretty good for a 260-pound sophomore.

His highlight tape reinforces all those traits. The best play below might be the one where he chases down a QB on a rollout. It is a red zone stop.

“Of course I’m not to that scale as (Watt) yet,” he said. “But that’s a big compliment. That’s who I strive to play like.”

The work rate is something those two also share in common. It stands out on his tape.

“That’s my work ethic,” he said. “Just running after plays with my skill set. I’ve been working on it for so long now. It has really helped me over the last couple of years.”