It's hard to believe that two days separate us from the month of August and that just means Clemson football is right around the corner. In just 32 days, the Tigers will take on LSU under the lights at Memorial Stadium which might just be the best non-conference game of the year.
Both teams are going to enter that matchup just completely loaded with talent.
Don't believe me? Just look at the preseason award watch lists. Both teams have had plenty of representatives and with the watch lists being revealed all week, we continue to add Tigers to the list of potential award winners.
We've seen guys like Cade Klubnik, Antonio Williams, Avieon Terrell, Blake Miller, Peter Woods, and TJ Parker make some watch lists already, but you can add two more players to the mix. On Wednesday, the Butkus Award (awarded to the nation's top linebacker) released its annual preseason watch list, and Clemson was represented by two linebackers: Sammy Brown and Wade Woodaz.
Sammy Brown and Wade Woodaz comprise two of the 51 names on this year’s Butkus Award watch list, recognizing 51 top linebackers in tribute to the jersey number of the great Dick Butkus.
— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) July 30, 2025
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Clemson is one of the rare teams with two linebacker representatives out of the 51 players selected.
Woodaz is more than deserving after having a breakout junior season with 83 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception, and five pass deflections. He was one of the most consistent defensive players last season.
As for Brown, he was incredible as a freshman, racking up 80 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, and three pass deflections. He's on track to become one of the best linebackers in the Dabo Swinney era, in my opinion.
I expect both of these guys to be on the midseason watch list as well.