TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Less than a week after firing Greg Frey, Florida State has hired Randy Clements as the new offensive line coach for the Seminoles.
“Randy Clements has a remarkable resume filled with quantifiable results coaching offensive linemen,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “He has proven to be a successful teacher and knows exactly how we want to operate in this offense. I am happy for our student-athletes to learn from him, and I’m enthusiastic about him joining our staff as we continue to build a championship culture at Florida State.”
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Clements has nearly three decades of experience coaching offensive line and has spent 10 years working alongside FSU offensive coordinator Kendal Briles. Clements spent the 2018 season as Houston’s run game coordinator and offensive line coach, returning to the school where he coached the offensive line from 2003-07. He was the offensive line coach at Baylor from 2008-16, holding the co-offensive coordinator title from 2008-11 and serving as run game coordinator from 2012-16. During the 14 seasons from 2003-16, he tutored 16 different all-conference offensive linemen and five All-Americans while producing the Big 12’s Offensive Lineman of the Year four straight seasons from 2012-15.
“I want to start by thanking Coach Taggart for this opportunity,” Clements said. “My family and I are thrilled to be part of this prestigious program. My background with Kendal will be valuable, but I’m also looking forward to integrating with the rest of the staff and can’t wait to get to know and work with the student-athletes on campus. I am excited to work toward our goal of bringing Florida State its next championship.”
In 2018, operating behind Clements’ offensive line, Houston averaged 43.9 points per game, ranking fifth in the nation, and 512.3 yards of total offense, the seventh-highest total in FBS. The Cougars were one of three teams to rank in the top-25 in passing and rushing offense, averaging 295.5 passing yards and 216.8 rushing yards per game to rank 16th and 24th, respectively. The offense scored at least 30 points in each of the first 12 games, including an NCAA-best 10 games of at least 40 points, and scored in 47 of 52 quarters in 2018. Houston opened the season with a program-record eight straight games of 40 points or more. The Cougars had 43 scoring drives of less than two minutes, which more than doubled their 2017 total of 18. Houston also ranked fifth in the country with 92 plays of 20-plus yards, and its 44 plays covering at least 30 yards were seventh in FBS.
Prior to his time at Houston, Clements was the offensive line coach for Southeastern University in 2017. That year, the Fire won the Mid-South Conference Sun Division and advanced to the NAIA Football Championship Series behind an offense that scored 55.1 points per game. The points average led NAIA and was propped by the No. 2 rushing offense of 330.4 yards and the third-best total offense per game average of 557.4. Southeastern also converted 50.7 percent of its 3rd-down attempts and 66.7 of its 4th-down attempts to rank fifth in both categories while allowing only 1.2 sacks per game.
Clements helped elevate the Baylor program to historic heights, including back-to-back Big 12 championships, behind a record-setting offense. The 2013 team, which won the school’s first Big 12 title, led the nation with an average of 618.8 yards per game and 52.4 points per game while also ranking 13th with 259.7 rushing yards per game. The 2014 team led the nation in points per game with 48.2 and total offense per game with 581.5 while winning the program’s second straight conference title and breaking the NCAA bowl record with 601 passing yards in the Cotton Bowl against No. 7 Michigan State. The 2015 squad led the NCAA with 48.1 points per game and 616.2 yards of total offense while also ranking second with 326.7 rushing yards per game. Baylor ended the season by rolling up an NCAA bowl-record 645 rushing yards and a Russell Athletic Bowl-record 756 yards of total offense to defeat No. 10 North Carolina.
While at Baylor, he coached lineman who earned a combined 13 All-Big 12 accolades and six All-America recognitions, including three unanimous selections. Cyril Richardson was the conference’s 2012 and 2013 Offensive Lineman of the Year and added unanimous All-American and Outland Trophy finalist to his profile in 2013. The next year, Spencer Drango was the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year and a consensus All-American before becoming a unanimous All-American, Academic All-American, NFF National Scholar-Athlete, Outland Trophy finalist and Offensive Lineman of the Year again in 2015. Richardson and Drango were drafted in 2014 and 2016, respectively, and Clements also tutored Danny Watkins, who was drafted 23rd overall in 2011 to become only the second offensive lineman in program history to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.
In his first stint at Houston, Clements’ linemen earned eight All-Conference USA recognitions while blocking for three top-12 offenses in the nation, highlighted by the 2007 team averaging 513.2 yards per game to rank fourth nationally. After switching from tight end to left tackle, Sebastian Vollmer was developed into a second-round pick by New England in the 2009 NFL Draft and played his entire eight-year NFL career with the Patriots, appearing in four Super Bowls and winning two. Overall, Clements has coached 10 offensive linemen drafted into the NFL.
Clements began his coaching career as a student assistant working with the offensive line at Stephen F. Austin in 1986 and 1987. He played on the Lumberjacks’ 1988 squad that posted a 10-2 record and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the I-AA playoffs. After earning his bachelor’s degree in education from Stephen F. Austin in 1989, he coached the offensive line at Stephenville High School in Texas from 1990-2002 and was the school’s offensive coordinator for his final three years.
Clements and his wife, Polly, have two children, Jordan and Jayson.
Randy Clements Coaching History
2019 Florida State Offensive Line Coach
2018 Houston Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach
2017 Southeastern University Offensive Line Coach
2012-16 Baylor Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach
2008-11 Baylor co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach
2003-07 Houston Offensive Line Coach
2000-02 Stephenville High School (Texas) Offensive Coordinator
1991-02 Stephenville High School (Texas) Head Powerlifting Coach
1990-99 Stephenville High School (Texas) Offensive Line Coach
1986-87 Stephen F. Austin Student Assistant Offensive Line Coach