JACKSONVILLE – John Grass has hired Cleo Lemon as his new wide receivers coach, filling the position with experience from every level from high school to the NFL.
 
Lemon comes to Jacksonville State from Pearl River Community College, where he spent the 2016 season as the Wildcats offensive coordinator. He brings five years of coaching experience to the Gamecocks, along with that gained during his 10-year professional playing career that included three stops in the NFL.
 
"We are excited to add Coach Lemon to our program," Grass said. "He was a great player in college and then had an extended career in the NFL and CFL and brings a vast amount of experience to our team. On top of all of that, he is a great person and is a perfect fit for our staff."
 
That playing career saw Lemon play quarterback for the San Diego Chargers (2003-05), Miami Dolphins (2005-08) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2008-09) in the NFL before two seasons with the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts.
 
A four-year starter at Arkansas State from 1997-2000, Lemon threw for 7,706 yards and 48 touchdowns, both of which are the second-most by a player in ASU history.  He threw for a then-school-record 2,721 yards in 1998, just the second 2,000-yard passing season in school history to that point.
 
His playing career at ASU parlayed into a long professional career. Lemon signed a free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers in 2002 and would see his first action under center with the Chargers in the 2004 season. He threw for 2,185 career yards and eight touchdowns in the NFL before moving on to the CFL to play for the Argonauts in 2010.
 
That 2010 season saw Lemon take over at quarterback in Toronto, where ha and the Argonauts returned to the CFL Playoffs after a three-year absence. In just two CFL seasons, he threw for 5,069 yards and 22 touchdowns, while also averaging over seven yards per carry.
 
In his one season as offensive coordinator for PRCC in Poplarville, Miss., the Greenwood, Miss., native led a Wildcats team that had five offensive players extend their playing careers by signing scholarships at four-year institutions. Those players included quarterback D.J Gillins (SMU), wide receiver Matthew Eaton (Iowa State), offensive lineman Keaton Brown (UAB) and tight end Sloan Spiller (ULM).
 
Lemon spent one season as the wide receivers coach at Findlay University in Ohio. In that one year, his receiving corps hauled in over 300 yards per game and 33 receiving touchdowns. Eleven different Oilers caught at least one pass and eight hauled in touchdown passes, while five receivers had over 300 yards.
 
Lemon spent time coaching quarterbacks at First Coast High School in Jacksonville, Fla., where he also ran youth camps and privately worked with young quarterbacks and receivers.
 
He played high school football for his father, Cleo Lemon, Sr., at Greenwood High School.