Elite LB Sammy Brown Enjoys Latest Trip to Rocky Top

2024 Jefferson (Ga.) linebacker Sammy Brown is considered one of the nation's top recruits in his respective recruiting class. He returned to Tennessee over the weekend for a Junior Day visit, which allowed him the opportunity to spend more one-on-one time with the staff and talk football. He details the trip with Volunteer Country.

"I think one of the best parts about the trip was actually being able to sit down with Coach (Jean-Mary) and talk football, talk a little bit about my game and Tennessee's game and kind of how they're linked together," Brown said of the visit. "It was all really good. We've been up there a couple times, but it's been so busy we haven't actually gotten to sit down and talk football with them. So it was good to actually talk football with them."

Brown already thought highly of Jean-Mary before the visit, but the visit helped to see the football side and solidify their relationship even more.

"He's a really good guy, and I've figured that out in the last couple times I've gone," the Peach State product said of Jean-Mary. "He's a really good guy and a really good coach, and I've liked what he's doing. He has a very similar mindset on the linebacker position, not only with my dad but the position coach over there at Jefferson. So it was really good to sit down and talk with him with similarities and differences with what my dad says, with what Jefferson says, and coach says and kind of some of the other coaches."

Brown and his family already had a strong relationship with defensive analyst Chad Creamer before his time on Rocky Top, and like with Jean-Mary, the elite prospect thinks highly of Creamer as well. 

 "I really like his energy," Brown said of Creamer. "He's never down, even after that Ole Miss loss we went to. He was still up, and at 'em, so I really like his energy, and I really like his personality. He's got a great personality."

While Brown likes the Tennessee staff, they have been clear they like him and his game. 

"They really like the athleticism that I have," Brown said of the message from the Vols staff on his game. "I can play multiple positions; I can play Mike, Will, I can go outside the box a little bit. So they really like my athleticism and how I can adjust to certain things and get to the ball quickly and all that good stuff."

Brown has now had a chance to see Tennessee in action and through the film room, and he likes the way their linebackers are free to play in space. 

"I really like how they use their linebackers," he said. "They don't restrict them to one thing; they don't restrict them to straight plugging gaps and all that. They let them roam free, run outside, play the ball and pass. I like how they give their linebackers room to do everything."

Brown also has a strong family connection to East Tennessee, as his mother is originally from the area, and several members of his family still live around the area. While it won't be a deciding factor in his recruitment, it is at least a little help for the Vols. 

"It does a little bit, because if I ever have any trouble, I can always go see them," Brown said on if this helps the Vols. 

Brown visited Georgia on the first day of the recruiting period opening back, and he is planning to see Oklahoma over his Spring break, but he does not have any other confirmed visits at this. However, while it is early in his process, he is meticulous and knows what he is looking for in a school. 

"Definitely the culture the school brings," Brown said of what is most important to him. "It's what they'll help me do on the field and off the field, how they'll help me become a better student, a better husband, a better CEO one day. So definitely how they'll help me to develop as a person and just that dad away from home. It's really through coaches and players. I'm just really looking for a good culture that will help me when I move out."

Brown wants to ensure he makes the right decision and finds the right fit for him, so he is in no hurry to rush towards a college decision.

"I'm probably going to wait as long as I can because things can happen, coaches can move," he said of this. "So probably wait until senior year when everything is right there at it. Just keep this year and my junior year completely open to see everything."