Star Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown joined the latest episode of the Clemson Athletics Beyond the Paw podcast.

Among the topics Brown discussed is what made Clemson attractive during his recruitment and the biggest things that played into his decision to choose the Tigers.

Now a rising junior, Brown committed to Clemson back on June 5, 2023, as a coveted five-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. At the time of his commitment, he was the nation’s No. 1 linebacker and the No. 5 prospect in his class regardless of position, per 247Sports.

“I feel like the culture of Clemson was one of the biggest things in my decision,” Brown said. “Every time that I visited Clemson throughout my recruitment, it was just, ‘This is different. Like, this feels different.’ The facility felt different, the game day felt different – it was just always a different feeling for me. So, the coaches and the facility kind of paved the path for the leadership of the players and stuff, and I feel like that kind of played a big role in it.”

Brown received Clemson’s first class of 2024 offer in March 2022, well before the Tigers began pulling the trigger on other 2024 offers.

Clemson beat out Georgia, as well as programs like Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee and many others, to land the Peach State native’s verbal pledge.

Brown, who traveled to Tiger Town numerous times over the course of his recruitment, explained what made Clemson and Dabo Swinney’s program stand out to him.

“I think the people in the facility,” Brown said. “The head guy, Coach Swinney, is by far one of the best coaches in college football, and I feel like he does it the right way. He really is focused more on the people rather than the place. And I feel like that’s what a lot of people, when they make their decision to come to a college, it’s more about the place. … But I feel like with the people, that kind of builds the foundation for having a really good program.”

Brown also recalled having specific conversations with Clemson players during his recruiting process, including former Tiger and All-ACC linebacker Barrett Carter, who would go on to be selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

“I feel like the best thing to do was I talked to a lot of the players,” Brown said. “Because coaches are coaches – they’re going to sell you on ‘this is the best place for you’ and all that. But talking to the players, you kind of get that real personal perspective on what it’s like in a day-to-day [basis].

“I talked to Barrett a lot throughout my recruitment, because he kind of had a similar journey to me. He came in and played as a freshman and he had a great career, and he’s starting in the NFL now. So, I talked to him a lot about, what is it like in the locker room? What are practices like? What is the facility like on a day-to-day basis? He gave me a lot of really good stuff, and it was everything that I thought it would be. A lot of what I thought Clemson was like, he told me it was like.”

A high school Butkus Award winner, Brown earned freshman All-America honors in his debut season in 2024 while also being named the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Brown continued to be a force on Clemson’s defense as a sophomore in 2025, when he racked up 106 tackles — tied for second most in the ACC — while posting 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, seven pass breakups, a forced fumble and an interception. He was a third-team All-America selection by Phil Steele, as well as a first-team All-ACC honoree by the conference, the AP and Steele.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pounder enters the 2026 season credited with 194 tackles (25.0 for loss), 10.0 sacks, 11 pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery over 27 games (19 starts) in his first two seasons.

Brown is one of only 14 players nationally to post 10-plus tackles for loss and five or more sacks in each of the last two seasons, alongside fellow Clemson defender Will Heldt.