Swinney says Tyler Brown's maturity and ball skills set him apart

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says the Tigers were well aware they had a playmaker coming in Tyler Brown.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Oct 05 17:38:43 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Clemson receiver Tyler Brown walked out of the JMA Dome in Syracuse, a fashionable pair of eyeglasses and a suit belying his status as one of the best freshmen in the country, and placed his bag under the team bus. Well-wishers tried to talk to him, and he would smile, say thank you, and then go on about his business.

Welcome to the mature world of Clemson’s leading receiver.

Brown has 21 catches for 316 yards and two touchdowns, which is good for 15.0 yards per catch and 63.2 yards per game. He has scored two touchdowns. Brown leads Clemson in catches, receiving yards, and receiving yards per game.

Against the Orange, Brown hauled in nine passes for 153 yards, both career-highs and put the rest of college football on notice that he’s a threat to be reckoned with. I asked head coach Dabo Swinney what sets Brown apart from other freshmen he’s coached.

“He is a very mature kid," Swinney answered. “And that definitely is a part of what makes him successful as a young player. He’s just got a level of maturity that you don't see as a freshman.

“And I think that's just who he is and how he's been raised… we've had a lot of really, really, really talented players, but sometimes the maturity is not quite where the talent is. And (Brown) is a guy that's just one of the more mature freshmen we've had."

Brown has already put his name alongside Clemson greats – he joined Sammy Watkins and Deshaun Watson as the only players in school history to earn multiple ACC weekly honors in a single week when he was named ACC Receiver and ACC Rookie of the Week after his performance against Syracuse.

Swinney said the coaching staff thought they were getting a great player when they signed Brown out of nearby Greenville, but they knew it for sure during fall camp.

"You never know until you start coaching a guy where they are and how they're going to translate the meeting room and all that goes into that to the practice field and to the game field," Swinney said. "And he's just been a natural. We saw it in camp, and it's been fun to see him blossom before our eyes."

Swinney said that Brown has elite skills.

"TB is just as steady and as mature a freshman as we've had," Swinney said. "And then throw in the fact that he's got elite ball skills - that's the other thing you never really know until you really start coaching a guy - we knew we could really, really run, but I did not know just how elite his ball skills were.

"And he's not a tall kid, but he plays really long he plays with a lot of extension. He's got great contact balance and collision balance and has a good feel for the game with the ball in his hands. So it's been fun, man. It's been fun to watch him blossom."