Everything Randy Clements said in his introductory press conference on Friday

South Carolina formally introduced Randy Clements as its new offensive line coach in a press conference on Friday morning. Here’s everything Clements had to say, along with some words from head coach Shane Beamer.

Opening statement

“Everybody calls me Clem, so if you say Randy, I may look around and think you’re talking to somebody else. Echoing what Kendal (Briles) said, we’re just super excited about being here, so grateful. I’ve never felt more welcome at a place than when I walked in here. The welcome that Coach Beamer and his staff gave us was just second to none. Very appreciative of that. Excited about the journey. It’s going to be a grind. It’s going to be a day-by-day process. We’re going to work every day as hard as we can to make this program one of the most competitive in the toughest league in America. And I can’t wait for the opportunity. But so blessed to have this lady right there, Miss Polly, and that’s what her students always call her, but she’s kept me on the right path for a long time. But I can’t wait to get started.”

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Will you coach with TCU for the upcoming bowl game?

“Same thing for me (as Briles).” (Which means no, he will not)

How familiar are you with the offensive linemen in this group from your previous stops, maybe recruiting some of those guys?

“I have recruited a few of them. But as a group, we’ll be getting to know each other’s situation for us. I want to come here with a fresh mindset, you know, give everybody a chance to prove themselves and see where everybody fits. It’s like, you know, O-line, you got five guys playing at once, but you got to have more than that, and they all got to fit together and work together. So, it’ll be a grind, a daily process.”

Some thoughts from Shane Beamer on Clements

“Certainly, as you go through this process, when you hire an offensive coordinator, you want to give him the flexibility to shape the staff as he wants. We’ve got great coaches already on this staff that will be remaining, and Mike Furrey and Shawn Elliott, but all along, Kendal said there was one offensive line coach that he was interested in bringing, and there wasn’t a bunch of guys that he wanted to talk to. There was one offensive line coach that he said, ‘I need to have, and that’s Randy Clements.’ I did not know him at all. I made some phone calls. I called Mack Brown, who he worked for at the University of North Carolina most recently, and asked Coach Brown about him. And you guys know the respect I have for Coach Brown, and the feedback he gave me on Coach Clements was all I needed to hear. And then, as I met with him and got to know him a little bit better, you realize why Coach Brown is saying the things that he said. Proven, again, great leadership, great person, proven offensive line coach at the highest level, done it in multiple conferences, done a great job of recruiting and developing players, and is really excited about this opportunity to be in Columbia. So we’re super excited to welcome Coach Clements and his wife, Polly, here to Columbia.”

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