After his freshman All-American season in 2023, big things were expected of Tyler Brown at Clemson.

However, an ankle injury limited him to just four games the following season, hitting the pause button on what looked like a promising collegiate career.

Last season, Brown appeared in all 13 games in a reserve role behind Antonio Williams, but he still wasn’t fully back to his freshman form. He caught eight passes across the first two games of that season, but only 14 more the rest of the way.

Through the first five games of this season, Brown has regained that freshman form, and it’s because he’s finally fully healthy.

“Definitely, I would say that,” Brown said. “As you guys know, just battling injuries since my freshman year. Played with a stress fracture in my foot my freshman year, so it’s definitely the healthiest I’ve been.”

Despite some of the struggles on the offensive side of the ball, Brown has been able to showcase his game-breaking ability, and his 10 catches in the loss to Miami were a career-high. His 25 catches are four short of the team-high. He’s also been used sparingly in the running game, and has two carries for 67 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown run.

Why has he been able to recapture that freshman form? Brown gives a lot of the credit to the new strength and conditioning coordinator, Dennis Love.

“I feel more explosive,” Brown added. “I feel like I can get in and out of my breaks fast. I just feel good.

“A lot of kudos to our strength and conditioning staff as well. Just priming up muscles in my body that I never really focused on. So shout out to D-Love and all those guys in there. They really teach us how to treat our bodies like pros and prepare for practices and games.”

Coming out of the bye week, the focus now shifts towards finding some consistency on offense. The Tigers have struggled mightily in Chad Morris’ first season back as offensive coordinator. A lot of that is due to having a freshman quarterback in Tait Reynolds, and a lot of inexperience up front along the offensive line.

However, Brown feels like Clemson is close to getting on track, and the open date has allowed for a mental reset.

“I feel like we have the guys to make it happen. Everywhere on the offense,” Brown said. “It is the little details that are holding us back. I feel like we will take the next step once we get those things figured out.”

– Photo courtesy of Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider