Clemson Linebacker Honored As South Carolina’s Best Athlete

This week, Clemson added another trophy to the cabinet, but this wasn’t a team award. Junior linebacker Sammy Brown was honored with the Blanchard-Rogers Award, which honors the most spectacular athlete in the state of South Carolina.

The sky is the limit for Brown, who seems to just keep getting better.

After receiving the 2024 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year award, Brown turned around and posted an even stronger sophomore campaign, now appropriately honored by the Roger-Blanchard award.

With 106 total tackles (51 solo), five sacks and a forced fumble and an interception a piece, Brown caused mayhem in the 2025 season.

But in a year where Clemson drastically underperformed by many metrics, Brown was undoubtedly a bright spot, and he recognized that this season taught him lessons beyond football.

“There's just so much that I can give credit to this season. It's not all bad can come from, you know, having a bad season,” Brown said after a loss to Penn State in Clemson’s bowl game capped the season at 7-6.

Since its inception in 2013, Brown is the seventh Clemson player to be selected for the award. But in receiving the award, Sammy Brown is breaking a trend that has strongly favored the Tigers’ foe: the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Cocks have dominated the award since Jalin Hyatt received it in 2022. Then, it was Xavier Legette, followed by Kyle Kennard, who received the nomination last year.

In its early years, the award essentially functioned as Clemson’s “best player” honor, with the Tigers claiming five of the first six selections.

Returning the award to upstate South Carolina, Brown joins the elite company of Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson, Travis Etienne Jr., Vic Beasley and Tajh Boyd.

Brown is the first Clemson defensive player to win the award since Vic Beasley.

Brown will be formally honored by the South Carolina Hall of Fame on April 16, 2026 at Hotel Hartness in Greenville, South Carolina.

Heading into his third season with Clemson, Brown will be leaned on heavily in 2026. Now as a veteran with several elite awards and recognitions, Brown will be a backbone relied on for leadership and direction — and he knows it.

“Its going to be really tough and a lot of guys are going to have to take on new new roles and I'm going to have to step into the into the leadership role and take on being more of a vocal leader,” Brown said. “It's going to be tough, but it's going to be a new journey for me, a new journey for this team and I'm really excited and looking forward to that.”