Swinney on Brown: 'He's a Natural'

It didn’t take Sammy Brown long to make an impact in Clemson’s Orange & White Spring Game on Saturday, and the highly touted true freshman linebacker continued to make his presence felt during the intrasquad scrimmage at Death Valley.

The crowd of approximately 47,000 people on hand got their first look at Brown in action for the Tigers after he enrolled early in January, and he didn’t disappoint while tallying a game-high-tying eight tackles (six solo), a tackle for loss and a sack for the White team in its 27-12 loss to the Orange squad.

Brown’s sack came on the Orange’s very first offensive play, when he rushed off the edge, beat Clemson’s starting left tackle and got to starting quarterback Cade Klubnik for a 6-yard loss.

“I mean, he’s a natural,” head coach Dabo Swinney said of Brown’s performance after the contest.

Linebacker Sammy Brown (47) during Clemson’s spring game Saturday, April 6, 2024 at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider

Brown, a former five-star prospect and consensus top-35 national recruit, has worked exclusively at the MIKE linebacker position this spring following his career as a star two-way player at Jefferson (Ga.) High School.

The 2023 High School Butkus Award winner as the nation’s top linebacker and the All-American Bowl’s Defensive Player of the Year, Brown also played on offense during his prep career and posted outstanding numbers as a running back.

Even though Brown shined with his performance in the spring game, Swinney noted that the 6-foot-2, 235-pounder is “still grasping everything” defensively with the Tigers.

“You’ve got to remember, this kid played every snap almost, both sides of the ball,” Swinney said. “So now, he’s getting exposed to a lot more defensively, and we’ve kept him at one spot all spring, really trying to just hone him in. I mean, he’s got the speed and the talent to really play wherever, but we’re just trying to really build a good foundation for him.”

Being a midyear enrollee has been beneficial for Brown, allowing him to get a head start on learning Clemson’s defense and acclimating to the college game.

It’s helped set him up for success heading into his freshman 2024 season, and as Swinney pointed out, Brown has two standout, seasoned veteran linebackers to look up to in senior Barrett Carter and junior Wade Woodaz.

“I know he’s glad that he was able to come in early and get a lot of this learning curve cut down a little bit, so now he can go attack the summer and fall camp, and hopefully by September, he can be in a position to help us,” Swinney said of Brown.

“But it starts with Woodaz and it starts with Barrett – those are two really special players, and the good thing for Sammy is he’s got them as a model of what it should look like.”

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