Beloved former South Carolina assistant football coach Brad Lawing passes away

Beloved former South Carolina Gamecocks assistant football coach Brad Lawing has passed away.

The heartbreaking news was reported by his brother-in-law, Wayne J. Parris. He took to Twitter to deliver the awful update, one that’s reverberating sadness around South Carolina at the moment.

“My brother-in-law, Brad Lawing, passed away this morning,” tweeted Parris. “He sure loved all of his family, friends, players and his coaching family. Please pray for our family.

Additionally, South Carolina Football tweeted out a tribute to Lawing, as he had an undeniable impact on the program.

Our hearts are broken hearing this terrible news.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of a tremendous man and coach. https://t.co/w83AnH2KFh

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) June 15, 2023

“Our hearts are broken hearing this terrible news,” tweeted Gamecock Football. “Thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of a tremendous man and coach.”

Moreover, the news comes after former South Carolina star Travian Robertson was hired as the defensive line coach for his alma mater earlier this season. When asked about how he got to this point in his career, he gave Lawing a majority of the credit.

Lawing coached Robertson during all five of his seasons in Columbia and helped develop him into an NFL player. After his playing career was over, Robertson eventually transitioned into coaching. He learned a lot from Lawing about being a coach.

“Coach Lawing was great for me. He’s a special guy for me, and our relationship that we had, it’s a lot different than others,” Robertson said. “He really, really poured his all into us, and we played for him. We played fast for him.”

Moreover, Lawing convinced Robertson to sign with the Gamecocks back in the day, and now he’s back at his alma mater on staff under head coach Shane Beamer after time spent in the NFL. He’ll always be special to Robertson.

“He’s got a special place in his heart for me. He offered me when I was a puppy in high school. He was at one school, then came over to the great Carolina. And he offered me here,” Robertson said. “Once I saw that he believed in me at multiple stops, I trusted him and he helped me become the player that I was while I was here.”

As you can see, Brad Lawing meant a ton to South Carolina and everybody involved with the Gamecocks, and he’ll be sorely missed. The thoughts and prayers of the college football world are with his family, friends and the program.

On3’s Matt Connolly contributed to this article.