Former Gamecock football coach Brad Lawing dies. Gamecocks community mourns loss​

June 15, 2023

Former South Carolina football assistant Brad Lawing, a beloved defensive fixture who spent 17 seasons on the Gamecocks staff across two stints and helped coach Jadeveon Clowney to greatness, died Thursday. He was 65. Wayne Parris, Lawing’s brother-in-law, shared the news on his Facebook and Twitter accounts Thursday morning and confirmed Lawing’s death to The State. “Our hearts are broken hearing this terrible news,” South Carolina’s football team said in a statement via Twitter. “Thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of a tremendous man and coach.”

“So sorry to hear this awful news,” USC coach Shane Beamer added. “Coach Lawing loved @GamecockFB. Please keep his family in your prayers.” Lawing worked at South Carolina from 1989 to 1998 and again from 2006 to 2012 under coach Steve Spurrier as a defensive line coach primarily working with edge rushers and outside linebackers. During his first run in Columbia, he coached future NFL players Corey Miller, Gerald Dixon and Henry Taylor and, while working as a recruiting coordinator, helped bring eventual five-time Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham to campus.

Returning to work on Spurrier’s staff in 2006, Lawing helped land and coached Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. His unit led the Southeastern Conference in sacks in 2010 and 2012. South Carolina also finished in the top 15 nationally in total defense every year between 2008 and 2012 while recording back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2011 and 2012. Lawing spent the bulk of his career working for high-profile head coaches, including Nick Saban (Michigan State), Spurrier (South Carolina), Jimbo Fisher (Florida State) and Mack Brown (Appalachian State). He most recently worked as the defensive line coach for former South Carolina assistant Shawn Elliott at Georgia State. Lawing stepped down from that position at Georgia State after four months to concentrate on his health, according to the Post & Courier, and told the newspaper in May 2023 that “he had to get out of coaching because he was dealing with several maladies, but was recovering.”