Clemson reportedly to start freshman, former 5-star signee on defense vs. Va. Tech

After the Clemson defense was gashed by Louisville in last week's home loss, many Tiger fans have been clamoring for changes. Today, they will get their wish as a player that the fan base has wanted to see more of will get his first career start.

Sammy Brown, a true freshman who was one of the top recruits in the nation in the 2024 signing class, is reportedly set to start at middle linebacker for the Tigers today as they take on Virginia Tech on the road. That news was reported by Will Vandervort of The Clemson Insider.

Brown is a 6-foot-2, 235-pound true freshman from Georgia. This year, he's flashed moments of tremendous athleticism while also making the occasional freshman mistake.

In eight games this year, he's been credited with 28 tackles. He's also come up with 3.0 sacks and seven tackles for loss.

The jewel of Clemson's 2024 recruiting class, Brown was a five-star signee according to virtually every recruiting service. 247Sports.com had him rated as the No. 2 linebacker and No. 19 overall player in America.

Now, the question is whether or not he can help solidify a Clemson run defense that was unable to stop Louisville last week. The Cardinals ran for 210 yards on just 27 carries in their 33-21 drubbing of Dabo Swinney's team.

Today, the Tigers will face an even better ground attack. Virginia Tech is 27th nationally in rushing offense by putting up 201.4 yards per game on the ground.

The Hokies feature star tailback Bhayshul Tuten, the second-leading rusher in the ACC. Thus far, he's run for 951 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 6.7 yards per carry.

What's more, it looks as if mobile quarterback Kyron Drones will be back in the starting lineup for Va. Tech today. He missed last week's game against Syracuse with an ankle injury but people at Lane Stadium today report he's listed as the starter on the video board in the pregame.

Therefore, this won't be an easy first start for Brown. However, the Tigers needed to shake up their defense and the best way to do that is to give one of the best athletes on the team an opportunity to be a difference-maker. It will be fascinating to see how the true freshman handles this chance to make his first start.