If there's one player Clemson can't afford to lose in 2026, it might not be a quarterback or a wide receiver.
It might be Sammy Brown.
After a disappointing 7-6 campaign in 2025, Clemson enters the new season searching for a return to the top of the ACC and a path back into the College Football Playoff conversation. While there are questions throughout the roster after several NFL departures, one certainty exists on defense.
No. 47.
Brown has quickly developed into the heartbeat of Clemson's defense, and Year Two under defensive coordinator Tom Allen feels like the season where one of the nation's most athletic linebackers becomes one of college football's biggest stars.
His résumé already suggests he's there.
Brown recently earned the 2025 Blanchard-Rogers Trophy, awarded annually to South Carolina's most outstanding collegiate football player, after a sophomore season that saw him pile up 107 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
He also collected first-team All-ACC honors and became Clemson's first defensive Academic All-American since 2001.
But statistics only tell part of the story.
Brown simply looks different.
Some linebackers make tackles because they're in the right position. Brown makes tackles because he gets to places most linebackers can't.
His closing speed is elite. His acceleration jumps off the screen. Whether he's chasing down a running back from the backside, timing an interior blitz, or dropping into coverage, Brown's athleticism should allow Allen to be far more aggressive than most defensive coordinators are comfortable being.
That's why his second season in Allen's system could be so dangerous for opposing offenses.
The biggest leap for players often isn't physical; it's mental. Brown now has a full season operating in Allen's defense, and that experience should allow him to play even faster. Instead of reacting, he'll anticipate. Instead of processing, he'll attack.
Those are scary words if you're lining up across from him.
Brown also enters 2026 carrying a larger leadership burden. With Wade Woodaz gone, Clemson is searching for Brown's running mate at linebacker, with Jeremiah Alexander, Kobe McCloud and several younger players competing for increased roles. Whoever ultimately wins the job, there's little doubt whose defense this has become.
Clemson has won three ACC championships this decade and hasn't gone consecutive seasons without a conference title since 2012-14. That standard hasn't changed inside the program, even after last year's frustrations.
If the Tigers climb back to the top of the league this fall, expect Brown to be one of the biggest reasons why.
He's no longer just one of Clemson's best defenders.
He's becoming the identity of Clemson's defense, and Year Two under Tom Allen feels like the season everything comes together.
