COVID brings Clemson top Palmetto State wide receiver prospect Tyler Brown

Brown says the Tigers are getting a playmaker.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Dec 26 12:32:03 GMT-04:00 2022

COVID brought Tyler Brown back to football and, eventually, Clemson.

Brown is the 2023 wide receiver out of Greenville that signed with Clemson earlier this week, and he helped the Red Raiders to a 10-4 record and state semifinal berth in 2022. Brown finished his prep career with 148 receptions for 2,501 yards and 32 receiving touchdowns and averaged nearly 17 yards per catch for his career. He also added 29 rushes for 163 yards and a touchdown. He scored 34 career touchdowns, 32 on receptions, and also returned kicks over his career and finished with 3,077 career all-purpose yards.

But football is a sport that he almost gave up on playing.

“A lot of people don't know the story,” Brown told TigerNet. “I stopped playing football 7th Grade, started back 10th. Actually, I had basketball dreams at the time. Once I got back on that field during COVID I fell in love back with the game, man, so made the best. I was just in the house. I was just bored. I was like, ‘Mom, I might as well go play some football.’ I went to the field a couple times before the season and fell back in love with it. Just the wide receiver position. It's just such a fun position to play.”

Speaking of his mother, Samantha Brown, he has a tattoo on his leg that says, “Pray, Love, Forgive.”

“It's honestly just the motto I live by. I don't like to hold grudges,” Brown said. “Forgiveness is definitely a big thing in my household, coming from my mother. She's just one of the greatest people on this earth. Just a loving person, a very Christian person implementing that onto me and just her ways of living.”

Brown is known for his speed and polished route running, and he frequently draws comparisons to Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams.

“Honestly, I get that comparison a lot. Our speed is what separates us, top of our routes, in and out of our breaks,” Brown said. “It's just what makes us great slot players and great playmakers in general. You've got to have that second gear, man. You never know how the ball is going to be. You got to be able to react, adjust, and just make plays.”

What does he do well?

“I feel like being an undersized guy; I block pretty well. As you can see in my film, I make good blocks,” Brown said. “I can return the ball top of my routes in and out of my brakes, just all-around player. I do what's needed to win. I might come out of the backfield a little bit.”

Brown played in a high-energy Greenville offense with another highly-touted wide receiver in Mazeo Bennett.

“That's actually my cousin. A lot of people don't know that's my cousin,” Brown said. “Just that energy, having us both on the different sides of the field, man, it just opens up so many more things that people don't even notice in the game, so it's great to have him on the other side of the ball.”

Brown said playing for the Tigers was a dream come true.

“Just the consistency, man. Just consistency and coaching and winning is why I chose the Tigers,” Brown said. “Growing up, the whole family is diehard Clemson fans, so it was really a no-brainer. It took everything in me not to commit right there on the spot when Dabo sent me the offer.”

Brown won’t enroll in Clemson until summer, but he said he can’t wait to get on the field with quarterback Cade Klubnik.

“I feel like Cade, man, just the energy everyone plays around him is awesome,” Brown said. “He just makes everyone around him better. Honestly, I'm stoked for it. I would've enrolled early if we would've got that state championship ring in football, but I have to get me one in track now, so I'll be there in the summer.”

What are the Tigers getting in Brown?

“You get a playmaker in me, and I'm ready to win some games in Death Valley,” Brown said. “Let's do it.”