Clemson defender Sammy Brown named ACC defensive rookie of the year

Sammy Brown has been a standout freshman and earned the ACC’s top honor there.

Press Release - Wednesday, December 04 2024

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today that Clemson true freshman linebacker Sammy Brown has been named as the 2024 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Brown becomes the fourth Clemson player to earn ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year since the honor was first awarded in 2007, joining defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (2016), defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (2020) and safety Andrew Mukuba (2021). Clemson becomes the first program to produce four ACC Defensive Rookies of the Year since the award’s inception, pulling one ahead of Florida State and Miami (three each).

Brown logged eight or more tackles in five games this season, including a season-high 11 against The Citadel. He became the first Clemson rookie to log 50 or more tackles and 10.0 or more tackles-for-loss in a season since Dexter Lawrence in 2016. The Commerce, Georgia, native was named the ACC Linebacker and Rookie of the Week on November 11 following his eight-tackle performance, including a sack and 2.5 tackles-for-loss, in the Tigers’ win at Virginia Tech.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Sammy Brown – Clemson (42)

OJ Frederique – Miami (21)

Quentin Reddish – Virginia Tech (4)

Maraad Watson – Syracuse (2)

Brandon Nicholson – Stanford (2)