CHARLOTTE — After two seasons at Clemson, Sammy Brown is getting first-round hype for next year’s NFL Draft.
Brown was the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year after his debut season in 2024, and coming off that kind of success, one of his biggest objectives was not to experience the dreaded sophomore slump in year number two.
Well, mission accomplished, as Brown’s second season certainly surpassed his first. The former five-star talent earned first-team All-ACC honors last year after he had a team-high 107 tackles, while adding 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, seven pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. His 734 snaps were also a team-high for the defense.
“They call it a sophomore slump. I was very intentional about that not happening,” Brown said during the ACC Kickoff. “But I didn’t want to focus on not having a sophomore slump. I wanted to focus on taking that next step in my journey. And that’s kind of the mindset going on this year is, ‘Hey, I took a step last year, how can I build on that? How can I build into a better player this year, whether it is on the field, off the field, in my leadership?'”
After that kind of sophomore season, the draft buzz was soon to follow, and Brown would be eligible to enter his name in next spring’s draft. However, Brown isn’t interested in looking ahead. His sole focus is on fall camp and preparing for the upcoming season.
“Live your life inside out,” Brown said. “People are going to talk. It can be good talk, it can be bad talk, but you can not rely, and you can not base your feelings on yourself and the way you play the game on what other people say. At the end of the day, you have to put your head down and go to work.”
As things stand currently, there is no guarantee that the high school Butkus Award winner even enters the draft. In today’s landscape, far more players are choosing to stay in the college game longer than they were just five short years ago.
On top of that, Brown knows there is still more work to be done. If he doesn’t turn in another productive season, that first-round talk could dissipate as quickly as it began.
Before worrying about any decision that might need to be made months from now, Brown is solely focused on the task at hand, and that is helping the Clemson defense rebound in year two under coordinator Tom Allen.
“The other thing I would say is to just be present in the moment,” Brown said. “I am never going to have the opportunity to have a junior season (again), so why would I put my eyes on the future when I’ve got today to worry about?”
