Clemson star linebacker Sammy Brown has been named to multiple major national award preseason watch lists entering the 2026 college football season, including for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (national defensive player of the year), the Lombardi Award (nation’s top lineman or linebacker) and the Butkus Award (nation’s top linebacker).

Beyond award watch lists, Brown has earned high-profile national recognition, such as being named the preseason ACC Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today and being ranked No. 20 overall nationally on The Athletic’s “Freaks List” for his elite athleticism.

Now, Brown has collected yet another preseason honor ahead of his upcoming junior campaign, this time from ESPN.

Brown was named to ESPN’s preseason All-America team as a first-team selection at linebacker.

“Put simply, Brown was one of the most productive linebackers in college football a year ago,” ESPN’s Eli Lederman and Max Olson wrote. “Operating alongside veteran captain Wade Woodaz, Brown accounted for a team-high 106 total tackles (13.5 for loss) with five sacks and 18 run stops, which tied for 10th among FBS linebackers last fall. A first-team All-ACC pick in 2025, the junior defender checks all the boxes. He returns as the face of coordinator Tom Allen’s defense in a critical season at Clemson.”

Brown played a defensive-unit-high 734 plays in 13 games last season. He had a team-best 11 tackles, including two tackles for loss, in Clemson’s win at No. 19 Louisville last year. He finished the year with a career-high-tying 15 tackles in the Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State. In addition to his first-team All-ACC nod, he was a third-team All-America selection by college football guru Phil Steele.

A former five-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class and 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 enters the 2026 season credited with 194 tackles (25 for loss), 10 sacks, 11 pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery over 27 games (19 starts) in his first two seasons. He 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.

Numerous opposing players who are slated to face Clemson during the 2026 regular season made ESPN’s preseason All-America team, as well.

The list includes Miami’s Mark Fletcher Jr. (second team RB); LSU’s Trey’Dez Green (second team TE); LSU’s Jordan Seaton (second team OT); Miami’s Malachi Toney (first team all-purpose); Miami’s Ahmad Moten Sr. (first team DT); South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart (first team edge); LSU’s Whit Weeks (second team LB); LSU’s Ty Benefield (first team safety); and South Carolina’s Vicari Swain (second team returner).