#E11aStrong: Ella Bresee's brothers at Clemson tell her they have her back

Clemson was #E11aStrong this week and will be moving forward (Clemson athletics photo).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Sep 10 21:19:24 GMT-05:00 2022

CLEMSON – Clemson’s football team will quickly turn the page from Furman and look ahead to next week’s game against Louisiana Tech, but the heart and mind of every player and coach will be in Washington, D.C., with Ella Bresee and her family as she continues her courageous battle against cancer.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney used this weekend as an opportunity to honor Ella, the younger sister of defensive tackle Bryan Bresee. Ella was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma last year and underwent surgery just a few days after her diagnosis. Medulloblastoma is a malignant brain tumor that starts in the lower back part of the brain.

Ella has endured surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments and was on hand Friday when she had suffered a setback and was moved from Greenville Memorial to the Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C.

"Unfortunately Ella wasn't able to be here today. She was here all week,” Swinney said after the game. “She got to speak to the team on Wednesday-- but had a real setback. They actually airlifted her back to D.C. today. She's 15 years old. She's the toughest Bresee-- in that whole family."

The traditional Tiger Walk was led by her brother, and the team wore "#E11aStrong" t-shirts instead of their traditional suits. As the team unloaded off the buses, Swinney gathered the team around himself and Bresee. Before he sent Bresee out to lead the walk, Swinney put his arm around the sophomore and told him, “We got you man. We love you. You’re not by yourself. We’re walking with you.”

Clemson players were in a somber mood after the game, but wanted to make sure that Ella knew her big brothers – all of them – were supporting her.

“I feel for them, but Bryan leading us in Tiger Walk was just huge. I hope that our win today sent Ella a message that we have her back and that she has 135 brothers on this team,” linebacker Barrett Carter said. “All the plays we made today - it was all for her. All for the family. We have their back through everything. Everything that we do today and everything that we will do this whole season is all in honor of Ella.”

Running back Will Shipley said he was thinking about Ella every single time he ran on the field.

“We had something planned for her today and she wasn’t able to attend due to some complications,” Shipley said. “We prayed for the Bresee family today. We prayed for Bryan and Ella countless times today and we just want to see a smile on her face and we want her hopes to be high. We love you Ella, we hope everything is going well, and we hope you are doing well.”

Bryan stood bravely in front of reporters after the game, almost in tears, and talked about his sister.

“It’s a tough situation. Life throws you a curveball sometimes,” Bresee said. “Gotta keep pushing. It’s hard being away from home, and having the support that I have here is super special. This team has been my support system when I am down here and not at home. They have been there for since all of this started a little over a year ago, and they done a great job of being behind me.

“She is super outgoing and just a positive person to be around. No matter what is going on, she brings a smile to my face whenever I’m around her. She was here this week and got to spend some time with the players and the coaches so everyone kind of got to see that.”