CLEMSON – While Clemson came up empty-handed last season, after a 7-6 finish and Pinstripe Bowl loss, linebacker Sammy Brown earned every bit of the golden trophy he was awarded Thursday night.

Brown, a rising junior for the Tigers, was presented with the South Carolina Hall of Fame’s Blanchard-Rogers Trophy at a ceremony in Greenville, S.C., Thursday, celebrating his leadership, performance and dedication on and off the field

“It’s a blessing,” Brown said before the ceremony at the Hotel Hartness. “It’s a blessing to be inducted into this fraternity that has so many great people in it, so many legendary players.”

In his two seasons so far, Brown has already cemented himself in Tigers lore, earning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 and a first-team All-ACC nod his sophomore season after notching 107 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks.

Though Brown, as evidenced by a growing list of accolades, was excellent in 2025, his team was not. Clemson’s defense ranked third in the ACC in rush defense, but ranked just No. 8 in the ACC in overall defense as the Tigers fell to their worst record in 15 years.

“The biggest thing that collectively, I and a couple other teammates, have learned is that you can work really, really, really hard, and you can do everything right and it still won’t go your way,” Brown said. “I feel like last year was the hardest that I ever worked and it’s not the result that we wanted. So, all that tells me is that I’ve got to work harder this year and we’ve got to work harder this year as a team.”

That “extra work,” Brown said, will include coming in on extra days, and getting in added reps after practice.

After a season with Tom Allen’s defense, veteran Wade Woodaz graduating, and a transfer portal mishap with linebacker Luke Ferelli, Brown said his position group has used these opportunities to mature, develop healthy chips on their shoulders, and fuel off-season growth.

“Being in the second year of the defense just understanding, you know, not just what you’re doing, but why you’re doing it and what the guy to your left and right is doing– I feel like we’ve taken a really big step in doing that,” he said.

Outside of Brown, Clemson’s nine linebackers on its 2026 roster have only combined for six career starts ahead of the season. Seniors Jeremiah Alexander and Kobe McCloud make up all of these, with three each. While admittedly a point of concern entering spring practice, Allen and head coach Dabo Swinney both commented on the improvement from the linebacker room, especially from Alexander and McCloud.

“I think maturity,” Brown said when asked about the pair’s growth. “I think they just put their head down. They’ve got a chip on their shoulder like, ‘Hey, we’re about to go to work.’ We’re going to be a great backer group and I feel like both of them have had a great spring.”

Throughout press conferences during spring practice, Allen noted that linebacker growth, which he deems essential and exponential so far, has been spearheaded by Brown.

“Obviously Sammy is the leader of that group and Sammy is special,” he said. “We have to be able to have four guys and we say we can rotate those four guys in there and feel good about whoever steps in the game.”

One of the ways the linebackers, particularly Brown, Alexander, and McCloud, have grown since the 2025 season concluded is their knowledge of the MIKE (middle) and WILL (weak-side) positions. Linebackers coach Ben Boulware, and Allen, have emphasized that Brown and others could be slotted in at both positions this year.

“Ben wants us all to, you know, be able to learn both because it adds functionality to our defense,” Brown said of his new skillset. Instead of saying ‘I can only go in at MIKE or I can only go in at WILL,’ you can go in and intermix interchange at both. It adds a lot of functionality to your game.”

The Tigers’ defense will need all the functionality it can get when going up against offensive coordinator Chad Morris’ schemes in practice, and it will be even more crucial to get a season-opening win over LSU on Sept. 5.