Three games into his freshman season, Tyler Brown had cracked the starting lineup at Clemson.

Brown quickly proved over the first two games of the season that he could be a pivotal member of the Tigers’ offense. With Florida Atlantic set to visit in Week 3 for Death Valley’s first night game of the season, Brown was set to make his first career start.

However, it almost didn’t happen, as the young wideout was almost a late scratch.

“I had to get a liquid IV to play the game,” Brown told Darien Rencher on the TPL Podcast. “I wasn’t going to play that game. Then right before the game they said let’s do this and see how it works.”

Brown would end up learning a valuable lesson on how to prepare for night games.

“I didn’t eat the whole day, and it was a night game,” Brown said. “And it was not by choice at all. The night before, at the team motel, I am eating good. I ain’t know no better. I’m eating steak dinner, popcorn, slushy at the movies, ice cream before I went to the movies.”

“I woke up the next morning, it was just straight dry-heaving. Threw it all up.”

Brown would then go out and haul in three catches for 49 yards, including the first two touchdown catches of his career. While he had shown he was ready coming off the bench in those first two games, the Florida Atlantic contest was his coming out party, as he went on to earn freshman All-American honors, leading the Tigers in catches (52) and receiving yards (531) last season.

“Went out there, first night game, ain’t eat all day. You can imagine that.”