Florida officially announces Lawing hire

Two days after GatorCountry.com first reported the story the University of Florida has confirmed the hiring of Brad Lawing to the Florida Gators’ football staff.

While Tuesday’s announcement was anticipated, we do get to learn the details of Lawing’s new job description as well as the revised makeup of the staff. Lawing will serve as assistant head coach and defensive line coach. At this time, the staff is sharing special teams coordinator duties.

“We are excited to have Brad Lawing join our coaching staff,” Florida coach Will Muschamp said in a release. “His track record speaks for itself—his nearly three decades of experience coaching defensive lineman, his familiarity with the SEC and our shared philosophical beliefs make him a perfect fit for our program.”

Lawing spent 17 seasons at South Carolina, including seven during his most recent second stint. He has coached countless top defensive linemen, including current All-American defensive end Jadaveon Clowney.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with Coach Muschamp and the entire Gator coaching staff,’’ Lawing said. “Coach Muschamp and I share the same philosophical beliefs defensively. I’ve enjoyed the many years I’ve had in South Carolina and I’m grateful for the opportunities Coach Spurrier provided to me.”

The Gamecocks were 11th in the nation in total defense in 2012 and were third in the nation in 2011. The team set a school recored with 41 sacks in 2010, a mark that was broken this past season when Clowney and Co. finished with 43 total sacks.

Lawing coached defensive end Melvin Ingram to a first-team All-American performance in 2010 while Clowney was SEC Freshman of the Year that same season. Clowney received several All-American honors this season and was named the All-America Player of the Year by AT&T, an award voted on by fans.

The Gamecocks also were 21st nationally in passing defense and 17th in rushing defense this past season. They were 16th in the nation in tackles for a loss.

Another player Lawing is credited with coaching is Eric Norwood, who exceeded his potential under Lawing by setting a school record with 19.5 tackles for a loss in 2007.

Lawing spent 10 seasons at South Carolina during his first stint on the staff. He served as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. He worked three seasons as North Carolina’s defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, helping the Tar Heels land three top-25 classes. He also spent four seasons at Michigan State, where he coached All-American and first-round NFL Draft pick Julian Peterson, among others.

He began his career as defensive line coach at Appalachian State. As a player, he starred as linebacker at Lenoire-Rhyne from 1976-79 while also starting at catcher for the Bears’ baseball team in 1977.

Lawing was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He and his wife, Laura, have two children.

 

mikecapshaw
Mike Capshaw brings a wealth of experience to the Gator Country team. He’s been overseeing all editorial aspects of GatorCountry.com and Gator Country magazine by managing our team of staffers, interns and freelancers. He is now moving into a bigger role as a reporter by covering the football and basketball beats as well as providing coverage of all sports on campus. Mike’s 15 years in the business has included more than six years of covering SEC sports and recruiting at a daily newspaper in Arkansas. He has also helped launch a newspaper, magazines, websites and even a sports talk radio show. Because Mike puts family ahead of his career, he left the place where he was established when his wife received an opportunity to further her career at UF. He took a leap of faith that he could find a job in the Gainesville area and worked for a year at a newspaper group before joining the Gator Country family in November, 2011. Mike has won Florida Press Association awards for Best Sports Game Story and Best Sports Feature Story in the past two years as well as a company-wide award at his former newspaper group that includes some 60 publications, for Excellence in Sports Reporting. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeCapshawGC.