Head coach of the University of South Carolina Shane Beamer appointed Clayton White as a defensive coordinator for Gamecocks, he was announced today.
White, 43, is three times nominated for the Frank Broyles Award for the country’s best assistant coach (2017, 2019 and 2020) and a veteran 18-year-old coach. He has spent the past four seasons as a defensive coordinator and cornerback coach at Western Kentucky University.
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“I’ve been watching Clayton for a long time,” said coach Beamer. “He was a great player in college and spent some time in the NFL. He has been part of good programs and has a high level of success, most recently in Western Kentucky. He is from North Carolina and has many ties to the region. He had some opportunities to go elsewhere, but he wants to be in South Carolina and we are happy to have him. “
In 2020, the Hilltoppers ranked 28th in total defense, including eighth in the nation in defense of passes, allowing only 177.3 yards per game in the air. WKU was third in the country with 68 passes saved and the defense scored three touchdowns.
In 2019, WKU produced a general defense of the top 25 in the third season of White’s 4-2-5 scheme. WKU allowed only 20.1 total points per game, which was the lowest mark for the program since 2004 and ranked 22nd on FBS. Junior defensive final DeAngelo Malone was named Defensive Player of the Year at the 2019 Conference USA, after producing 99 tackles in total – including 21 for loss – with 11.5 sacks and 16 hurried quarterbacks.
WKU kept opponents at a rate of 29.7 percent (51 out of 172) in 3rd down attempts, which was sixth on FBS and was the lowest mark on the program since 1987. The Hilltoppers were third on FBS, with only 82 tackles lost in the big season. Only Michigan (74) and Air Force (81) had these better numbers.
WKU also ranked among the best in the country in a handful of other statistics: 15th with 224 first allowed runs, 19th in defense of the red zone with a 75.8 percent scoring rate, 24th in total defense with 335.5 yards allowed per game and 28th with 200 passing yards allowed per game. The Hilltoppers allowed only 142 plays from more than 10 yards throughout the season – which tied for 10th place in the country.
The Hilltoppers were one of the most petty in the country within the red zone in 2018. WKU allowed only 103.41 passers with their backs to the wall, good for the sixth best national brand. Better still, the Hilltoppers allowed opposing defenders to complete passes with just a 32.7 percent drop, the country’s best mark.
During White’s first campaign as the defensive striker in 2017, the Hilltoppers enjoyed a historic period, keeping opponents with the fewest points in the first seven games of the season in 15 years and a record in the FBS era.
The pass defense was also one of the most petty in the country in allowing pass touchdowns, as the opposing teams found the final zone only 11 times throughout the season against the Hilltoppers, a brand that was in 5th place in the national ranking. Hilltoppers came in 40th nationally in defense of passes – an improvement of 79 points over the previous season.
Prior to his arrival at Bowling Green, White spent four seasons as co-coordinator of special teams / security coach at NC State (2013-16). Wolfpack ranked in the top 30 in total defense in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, NC State was one of only two schools on FBS to finish in the Top 20 in Kickoff Return and Punt Return. Defensive back Dontae Johnson, a white disciple, was selected in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
White served as Special Team Coordinator / Running Backs Coach at UConn 2011-12. While in Storrs, the Huskies drew the national lead with three punt returns for touchdowns and led Big East with an average return of 12.5 punt, good for No. 18 nationally. Running back Lyle McCombs he was appointed an FWAA Freshman All-American under White’s direction, becoming only the second Husky to run more than 1,000 yards in his freshman campaign.
White spent a season at Bowling Green on Willie Taggart’s first team in 2010 and helped build the WKU program during the transition from FCS to FBS. He served as coordinator of special teams and defense technician.
A three-year stint at Stanford (2007-09) preceded his first stint at The Hill, where he coached Cardinal’s defensive backs, including the future NFL Pro Bowler Richard Shermanand future NFL players Michael Thomas, Johnson Bademosi and Delano Howell. The cardinal rose to 14th place in the polls in 2009 and achieved a bowl game for the first time since 2001 that year.
White’s first stop as coach was as a defense coach at Sanderson (NC) High School in 2003. He also had stints at Western Carolina (2004-05) and Western Michigan (2006).
White was a three-year letterman at the NC State linebacker (1997-2000), ending his career in the Wolfpack record book in several categories, including career tackles for defeat (33), one-season tackles for defeat (16) and tackles in a single game (23). He had a three-year career in the NFL with the New York Giants (2001-02) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2003).
Originally from Dunn, NC, and graduated in 2001 in sports management from NC State, White and his wife Kelly have two children, Chase and Macy.