Clemson Freshman is Living up to the Hype

CLEMSON — Clemson linebacker Barrett Carter says he has been nothing but impressed with true freshman linebacker Sammy Brown, who enrolled at Clemson this past January.

“First of all, he looks the part already. Physicality-wise, I would say he’s probably stronger than all of us already,” Carter said. “He’s 18, 19 years old, whatever he is.”

Brown was a consensus top 30 player nationally according to 247Sports, ESPN, On3, Rivals and PrepStar coming out of high school. A consensus All-American, Brown was named as the No. 1 “Freak Athlete” in the nation by 247Sports and received the 2023 High School Butkus Award, presented each year to the top high school linebacker in the nation.

He was also selected to play in the All-American Bowl and was named as one of six finalists for the organization’s Player of the Year Award. He won the All-American Bowl’s Defensive Player of the Year award, as well.

After enrolling at Clemson in January, Brown participated in spring drills and made a big impression. By the end of the spring, he was already seeing playing time as the second-team middle linebacker.

Many expect Brown to see the field a lot as a true freshman and after hearing Carter’s comments, that seems to be legit.

“Sammy, he’s wired differently, to say the least. He’s come in just hungry and driven with no ego at all,” Carter said. “He’s tried to pick my brain as much as possible just to learn the playbook and learn the ins-and-outs of how to be successful at Clemson. I’m glad that we have him in his program. I like to take credit that he committed because I hosted him on his (official visit).”