Top 2024 LB Sammy Brown updates busy recruitment

It's easy to see why Sammy Brown is one of the top prospects in the 2024 class.

He has the size at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, and the linebacker also has impressive athleticism, starring on the track for Jefferson High School in Georgia.

Despite being more than a year away from a commitment, Brown is already being pursued by some of the top programs in the country. Georgia, Clemson, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan State and others are involved for Brown.

Rivals caught up with Brown to discuss his recruitment and his summer visit schedule.

CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

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On Oklahoma: "It’s really about the same as Clemson. They’ve kind of adopted the same mindset as Clemson. I called it Clemson 2.0 because half the staff is from Clemson, they’ve got the same mindset as Clemson. So it’s really the same as Clemson, just keep working, keep getting better, focus on high school ball right now but take it into consideration. I visited up there this spring, I got the offer last December right before the Georgia Elite game. They had kind of been on the radar a little bit, but it really started to pick up when coach (Brent) Venables got the job."

On Clemson and earning an offer from the Tigers this spring: "It was really surprising. I did not expect it at all. But it’s also like a motivation at the same time. ... Not many people get that. It kind of motivates me to live up to that standard."

On the message from Clemson: "They want me at inside backer, Mike or Will. They said that I might have been able to start their spring game this spring. They really like me and they’re really kind of hard on me."

On his mother's connections to Tennessee: "She grew up in Tennessee in Johnson City, it’s about an hour and a half away. She grew up a Tennessee fan."

On what he likes about the Volunteers: "(Josh Heupel has) really turned the program around from what it used to be into really a contender. They’re going to be a sleeper next year. They’ve got a good shot to really do something. I really like what he’s doing, I really like the culture they have. It’s a lot more involved in the players not really winning games and all that. They care more about the players. When you care more about the players, wins are going to come. They really care more about the players, not the wins and the losses."

On the message he's hearing from Georgia: "Just keep getting better. They really like me and they’re really hard on me right now. It’s just to keep getting better and make sure that I don’t lose sight of what’s really important right now, which is high school ball. (Schumann) really had the same conversations with Malaki (Starks) - just focus on high school ball, consider college but don’t really get into it until you have to."

On being high school teammates with Starks, who ended up at Georgia: "Yeah, (Starks has) really helped with Georgia and how they do things. I’ve been able to talk with him on and off about actually playing for them in college, not just the recruiting process. It’s really transparent. It’s not like they say one thing in recruiting and then it’s totally opposite afterwards. They’re really transparent during recruiting."

On his May 21 visit to Georgia: "Something that kind of stood out to me yesterday was the genuineness of the trip. I was able to sit down and talk with (inside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann) a lot. He’s really genuine. He’s going to be super transparent no matter what. He’s going to tell me straight and that’s something I really appreciate because if I were to go there I don’t want to have something totally different than what he said. I really appreciate the transparency and the genuineness he has."

On Ohio State: "They’re different. It’s a different kind of tradition. It’s almost like a really big high school. They have pep rallies and all that, which I thought was really cool. It’s a different kind of culture, but at the same time, they play fast, they play physical just like anyone else would."

On whether being far from home is a factor: "No. When we went to Ohio State, it took longer to drive from our house to the airport than it did to fly up there. Flying isn’t really a problem. It’s definitely a lot closer to home than people think."

On his commitment timeline: "I’ll probably have like a top five this time next year and then make my commitment sometime, like take official visits over the summer and then make the commitment sometime before the season starts."

Georgia, Clemson, and Tennessee appear to be the three favorites right now for Brown. He really appreciates the attention he's receiving from those schools. Clemson extended an offer earlier than normal for a 2024 prospect, and Schumann represented Georgia at his state track meet. Ohio State and Oklahoma are two other strong contenders. Brown wants to get to some places this summer that he hasn't been able to see, schools like Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Texas A&M. He also hopes to visit a "sleeper" in North Carolina State, as he likes what the Wolfpack are doing.