CLEMSON – Last June, linebackers coach Ben Boulware got the honor of receiving Clemson’s first verbal pledge in the 2027 recruiting class. 

The commitment came from linebacker Max Brown, a top-35 player in the state of Georgia and the younger brother of Tiger standout Sammy Brown.

“I called Coach Boulware on the way over to one of my friends’ houses,” Max told The Clemson Insider last June. “As I’m sitting in their driveway, we’re on the phone, we’re just chopping it up. And then he’s like, ‘Well, look, we want to offer you. He offered me, and I committed right after he offered me.”

After that “indescribable” feeling, Max picked the Tigers again in a conversation with head coach Dabo Swinney, solidifying his choice over offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech and Ohio State.

Max suffered a high school season-ending knee injury a few months later, after averaging over 10 tackles per game as a sophomore, but stayed strong in his commitment to Clemson, even recruiting other players via his X account.

In the meantime, his big brother racked up a team-high 107 tackles, earning third-team All-America and first-team All-ACC honors. Months later, Sammy Brown talked about watching his brother’s commitment process with media members at the 2026 ACC Kickoff Event in Charlotte.

“I just basically told him to run his own race, to not try to follow in my footsteps,” Sammy said. “He’s not Sammy Brown’s little brother. He’s Max Brown. So, I just told him, you know, run your own race and I want you to get recruited the same way that I did with a blank slate. And if Clemson’s the place, then Clemson’s the place. And so, ultimately, he ended up at Clemson.”

In 2024, the older Brown was a five-star recruit, the second-ranked player in Georgia and won the Butkus Award, given to the top linebacker in the nation. Like his younger brother, Sammy had his choice of schools to pick from, but ultimately landed on Clemson in the summer ahead of his senior season. 

In the immediate months after, the Brown brothers got to play their lone high school season together. The pair led the Jefferson High School Dragons to a 13-1 record, losing only in the Georgia 5A Semifinal round.

“I can remember in our Elite Eight game, we played Harris County,” the older Brown said. “I think it was the third or fourth quarter and we both tracked down the running back together and we both got up and we just went crazy. I mean it was really cool.”

While there have been some pairs of brothers to go through Swinney’s program, including most recently linebackers Wade and Drew Woodaz, Sammy acknowledges the ability to play football at a Power Four school with your oldest friend is not common. It is also not taken for granted in the Brown home.

“I’ve been blessed with the things that I’ve been blessed with, like being able to come to Clemson and then such a blessing that me and (Max) were able to play in high school together,” Sammy said. “We got a season together and then we’ll be able to play in college together. It’s such a unique experience that I don’t think many people get to get.”

However, there is a small wrinkle that could change the pair’s ability to play together at the college ranks. With Sammy entering his junior season, he will be eligible to declare for the NFL Draft after this year. 

If he stays on pace as one of Clemson’s biggest defensive standouts, he could be taken early in the draft, leaving for a professional career right as his brother arrives. Right now, though, Sammy says that the NFL is far from his focus, especially with the 2026 college football season six weeks away.

“I really and truly have not put much thought into that,” he said. “I’m really just honestly focused on this season and at the end of the year, if that’s what happens, that’s what happens, but you know playing with my brother in college will be such an incredible opportunity.”