Cleo Lemon enters his third season on the Gamecocks coaching staff and his first as John Grass’ quarterbacks coach in 2018 after two seasons working with the wide receivers.
In 2017, John Grass hired Lemon as his wide receivers coach, filling the position with experience from every level from high school to the NFL.
His first season saw him help the Gamecocks continue their success on the field, posting a 10-2 record and a perfect 8-0 record in Ohio Valley Conference play to win their fourth-straight league title. JSU entered the playoffs as the No. 3 national seed, the fourth-straight season it had been a top three seed. The perfect OVC mark extended the longest active conference win streak in Division I football to 32 games, a JSU and OVC record and the second-longest streak in FCS history.
The JSU offense turned to Lemon’s receiving corps in 2017, when 11 different players caught passes during the season and scored 14 touchdowns. His wideouts were a big part of the top scoring offense in the OVC and the No. 2 offense by total yards.
His second season was even better, when his 2018 corps was led by the junior duo of Josh Pearson and Jamari Hester. Pearson shattered the school record for touchdown receptions in a season with 17, six more than the previous record of 11 that was tied by Hester in 2018. Pearson was a First Team All-American after leading all Division I players in touchdown catches and also hauling in 67 catches and 1,123 yards that were each second-most in a season in JSU history.
Lemon came 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.
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. He earned his bachelor’s degree from The University of North Florida in 2014.
