Clemson’s season ended in the Bronx with a familiar frustration, and for Sammy Brown, it was hard to sugarcoat what went wrong.
Brown was all over the field defensively in the loss to Penn State, finishing with a team-high 14 tackles while playing behind a unit that was severely shorthanded. Despite the effort, Clemson couldn’t find enough consistency to keep its postseason run alive.
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“Honestly, I don’t think we deserved to win,” Brown said. “We didn’t make enough plays in any aspect. Offense, defense, or special teams. Give credit to Penn State. They came to play, and we didn’t make enough plays.”
For much of the afternoon, the defense did what it could, allowing just six points through most of the game. But once again, Clemson struggled to pair that effort with any sustained offensive rhythm. When the fourth quarter arrived, the imbalance finally caught up to the Tigers as Penn State pulled away late.
“One day it is the defense clicking, one day it is the offense that is clicking,” Brown said. “Some days, neither are clicking. Just one of those days, just one of those years.”
With the season officially over, Brown has already turned his attention to what comes next. With several veteran leaders moving on, he understands that responsibility will now shift to players like him to set the tone.
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“What we did this year was obviously not enough,” Brown said. “Coming back next year, we’ve got a bar that we’ve set, and we have to press that bar even higher.”
Brown said the biggest change moving forward has to be mental. Confidence, execution, and leadership all need to rise if Clemson wants a different outcome next season.
“At the end of the day, you actually have to go out there and perform and make plays,” Brown said. “I know without a shadow of a doubt that we’ve got the guys in the locker room to do it.”
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown on ‘one of those years, the 2025 season
