Sammy Brown Explains Why Year Two in Tom Allen's Defense Feels Different

Now in year two under Tom Allen, Sammy Brown is finally building off a defense instead of learning a new one from scratch.

Clemson LB Sammy Brown spoke with ACC Network on Friday, breaking down what's different about this season compared to his first two years. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown is expected to have a big year coming off a First-team All-ACC campaign in 2025, and that's already evident by the loads of preseason attention he's caught recently.

The junior spoke to ACC Network's Taylor Tannebaum and Tom Luginbill following practice at Jervey Meadows on Friday afternoon, speaking about the challenges going into last season compared to now having a year under his belt in the Tom Allen-led defense.

"Yeah, you know, this is the first year where I haven't had to learn a new defense," Brown said. "Coming in my freshman year, I had to learn that defense and then last year I had to learn that defense."

As most Tiger fans know, Clemson's staff has changed a lot over the past two years, from defensive coordinators to offensive coordinators to even smaller support staff positions.

During Brown's breakout freshman year in 2024, he played under defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, who had been there for three years. While the season culminated in the program's first College Football Playoff appearance since 2020, the defense — especially against the run — didn't live up to expectations, leading to Goodwin's firing after the season's conclusion.

Clemson then went on to hire former Indiana head coach and Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who had led the Nittany Lions to a top 10 defense in 2024, allowing just 16.1 points per game.

That said, with Brown now having a year to learn Allen's defense, it's just a matter of taking the next step and fully immersing himself in the scheme.

"This is the first year where I've been able to actually build on a defense," he continued. "So, it's just a matter of taking that next step within a defense and not only knowing what I'm doing, but you know, understanding schematically, what are we trying to show here and what are we trying to do in this certain defense."

Luginbill then asked what felt different this time around as a defensive unit. Brown had two answers, and one of which we've heard a lot about this offseason: confidence and competitiveness.

"I think there's two things that I see with our defense. I think the first one is confidence," he stated. "I think we got a lot of confidence within our group, and that just comes from getting reps, you know? Like I said, going into that second year, you've got reps doing, you know, the calls and everything else."

"So, you've got confidence in not only yourself, but your teammates, too. So, when I'm sitting there at backer, I know whoever's at will next to me, whoever's at rover behind me, they know what they're doing as well."

That familiarity within the group ties directly into the competition, especially since head coach Dabo Swinney has not named starters yet. With more players having reps in the system, the competitiveness has picked up across the board, and according to Brown, that internal pressure is pushing the entire unit forward.

"Then the second thing is competitiveness. I think we've got a lot of competitiveness within our defense," he finished. "That not only makes the [projected] starters a better player, but it makes those backups a better player, too. So, everybody in our defense is getting better."