Florida State hires Houston offensive line coach Randy Clements

Florida State officially hired Houston offensive line coach and run game coordinator Randy Clements as its new offensive line coach Thursday afternoon.

“Randy Clements has a remarkable resume filled with quantifiable results coaching offensive linemen,” FSU coach Willie Taggart said in a press release. 

“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.”

Clements (52) has worked with new FSU offensive coordinator Kendal Briles for 10 seasons. The two worked together for nine seasons at Baylor (2008-2016) and worked at Houston together in 2018.

Former offensive line coach Greg Frey was relieved of his duties after one season on Friday afternoon with Clements coming in to replace him. 

Houston's offensive line led the way for the 23rd best rushing attack in college football (5.26 yards per carry) in 2018. The offensive line did allow 30 sacks, which was 70th in 2018.

He had a four-year stretch at Baylor (2012-2015) where one of his offensive linemen won the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award each year.

“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.”

Clements was also on staff at Baylor for the sexual assault scandal that rocked college football in 2015 when an alleged 52 rapes by 31 football players took place over a four-year span.

Like Briles, Clements was never officially connected to the scandal.

He will have the tough task of fixing a FSU offensive line that has been among the worst in the country for the last few years.

FSU finished with the second worst run game in college football averaging just 2.79 yards per carry in 2018. The Seminoles also allowed 36 sacks during the season, which was 109th in college football. 

More:Florida State moving on from offensive line coach Greg Frey

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FSU returns starting offensive linemen Landon Dickerson -- who removed his name from the NCAA transfer portal Monday -- Cole Minshew, Mike Arnold, and Jauan Williams from last year's team.

Dickerson and Minshew were FSU's most talented offensive linemen, but combined to miss 14 games in 2018. Arnold and Williams both struggled extensively in their first seasons as starters.

The Seminoles signed four high school offensive linemen (guard Dontae Lucas, guard Maurice Smith, tackle Ira Henry, and tackle Darius Washington) and one JUCO offensive lineman (tackle Jay Williams) this recruiting cycle to help fix those issues.

FSU also has a commitment from Northern Illinois grad transfer offensive tackle Ryan Roberts, who will enroll at FSU in June.

The Seminoles are also still looking into a few other grad transfers like Virginia's R.J. Proctor and Georgia Tech's Parker Braun.

Clements is the third new coach to join the FSU staff since the end of the 2018 season joining Briles and wide receivers coach Ron Dugans.

Dugans is taking over for David Kelly, who's new role has yet to be announced.