Tenacity and a mullet: What to know about Clemson football freshman linebacker Sammy Brown

CLEMSON – Sammy Brown was livid as he walked off the field.

In the second round of the 2023 Class 5A Georgia High School Association football playoffs, his team, Jefferson, was leading 7-0 in the second quarter against Hiram. The Dragons could have gone up two scores, but Brown, who ran for their first touchdown, fumbled. The Hornets recovered it, scored and made the extra point to tie the game.

When the five-star prospect came to the sideline, his father and assistant coach, Michael Brown, gave him simple motivation:

“All right, make it up.”

Sammy Brown scored three more rushing touchdowns in Jefferson’s 42-21 victory. He finished with 354 rushing yards on 20 carries and 16 total tackles (three for loss).

“He's probably learned as much out of his failures as he has his success,” his father said. “But he's very comfortable in intense moments. He's very comfortable having to be the guy that steps up and makes the play.”

This is the caliber of player Clemson football is getting in the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Brown. A consensus top-30 prospect nationally who earned the 2023 Butkus Award as the nation’s top high school linebacker, Brown committed to the Tigers in June and enrolled in December.

Brown will wear No. 47 and start spring as a middle linebacker, according to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney.

“We’ll see if he can make some progress in learning that this spring,” Swinney said.

Sammy Brown, a man with a mullet

Anyone who has seen Brown without his helmet on will immediately notice his hairstyle. His blonde mullet has become a staple of who he is, but he didn't always have it. He used to wear a crew cut and flat top style, according to his father.

That all changed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown's hair growth journey started when he was a freshman at Commerce (Ga.) High School. He and his teammates bonded in a competition to see how long they could grow their hair.

"We didn't know he had curly hair until he grew it out," Michael Brown said.

More than half the team entered summer workouts with mullets, and Commerce had a successful season, finishing with an 11-2 record and reaching the quarterfinals in the state playoffs. When Brown transferred to Jefferson, he kept his hairstyle, and it became a part of who he is.

"People do recognize him from the mullet," Michael Brown said. "There's even kids in Jefferson that grow their hair out into a mullet."

Tenacity and passion: Sammy Brown on the field

Brown is a multisport athlete. He is a two-time state wrestling champion and has posted incredible markers in the 100- and 200-meter and long jump for his size.

Despite the diverse resume, there was never a doubt whether Brown would follow his dad’s footsteps and pursue football.

“From the time he could run around the house, I was on my knees playing football with that kid,” Michael Brown said. “Football has always been his sport. It’s been his passion since he was born.”

Sammy Brown was raised in the weight room, doing workouts with his father when he was 5 years old. He can now bench press 395 pounds, squat 600 and clean lift 405.

His drive comes from his competitive parents. Michael Brown played defensive tackle and linebacker for Furman. His mother, Becca Brown, ran track in high school and was a cheerleader at Furman.

“He just has a special gift to be able to be so mild-mannered and good-natured off the field but to be tenacious and aggressive on the field,” Jefferson coach Travis Noland said.

Before Brown enrolled at Clemson, father and son had a lengthy conversation about starting at the bottom in college after reaching the top in high school. Michael Brown encouraged his son to be a great teammate and be a sponge, soaking up knowledge from the Clemson coaches and players.

“He's a Clemson kid,” Michael Brown said. “He is a kid that's gonna give 110% in the weight room, on the field, in the classroom and in the community.”

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Sammy Brown's spring forecast

At Clemson, Brown will have to build his cachet like any other freshman. Second-team All-ACC linebacker Barrett Carter returns for his senior season and will be joined by junior Wade Woodaz in the starting lineup.

Redshirt sophomore Kobe McCloud will play with the duo when facing teams in bigger personnel. Swinney hopes redshirt freshman Dee Crayton and sophomore Jamal Anderson take a leap this season, and two other freshmen linebackers are coming in the summer.

For Brown to nab immediate playing time, he will have to get acclimated to the speed at the college level and the different checks and audibles under defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, whose unit was No. 8 in FBS in total defense last year.

“Sometimes when high school kids come into college, people have such unrealistic expectations, (and) it takes them a while to develop,” Noland said. “If they give him that grace, they'll be really pleased with how things turn out as he grows and matures.”

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: What Clemson football is getting with freshman LB Sammy Brown