Spring practice takeaways: South Carolina offensive line coach brings new style
.JPG "South Carolina offensive line coach Randy Clements")
South Carolina continued spring practice on Wednesday and, for the second time this year, reporters were able to view a portion of pratice.
Two weeks ago, during the first spring practice, a clip of the Gamecocks’ offensive linemen going through drills went viral, generating over a million views with a mass of folks jumping on to criticize O-line coach Randy Clements’ drill.
Clements eventually responded to the outrage, showing a video of the drill alongside a video of his Baylor offensive line using the same technique during a game.
“Coaches,” Clements said in a social media post, “make sure your drills show up in real time.”
Asked about this on Monday, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles — who’s known Clements for over two decades — said he didn’t wish to respond to the “Twitter O-line coaches,” but said that Clements is “the best O-line coach I’ve been around.”
On Wednesday, Clements and assistant offensive line coach Jason Smith — a former No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft who played for Clements at Baylor — were doing a number of drills to ensure that their linemen were able to switch their momentum suddenly while staying low to the ground.
Smith, who is very hands-on, was imitating a defensive lineman and moving his arms in different directions, forcing his guys to shift their weight. Off to the side, Clements was watching to make sure they kept their butts down and maintained good posture as they dropped back in their set.
Clements is one of five new assistant coaches to join Shane Beamer’s staff with the Gamecocks for the 2026 season.
Here are some other observations from Wednesday’s practice:
- Defensive coordinator Clayton White mentioned this week that edge Dylan Stewart still wasn’t a “full go.” We observed Stewart in street clothes on Wednesday, not participating in any drills.
- During the throwing portion of practice, Briles was walking around the field, watching LaNorris Sellers and the quarterbacks. In the drill, the QBs threw slants to wide reeceivers as coaches stood in the middle of the field with pads, ready to hit the receivers right as they caught the ball.
- NFL Hall of Famer Champ Bailey was in attendance. His son, Brayden Bailey, was an unofficial recruiting visit with the Gamecocks.
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 10:54 AM.
