Brad Lawing, a former assistant coach at Florida State, died at the age of 65.
On Thursday, tragic news broke that Brad Lawing, the former assistant coach at Florida State, had died at the age of 65, according to his brother-in-law. During his exceptional career, Lawing—a well-respected member of the coaching community—developed a number of the NFL’s and college football’s most talented defensive prospects.
Under previous head coach Jimbo Fisher, Lawing coached outside linebackers and defensive ends for three years in Tallahassee. DeMarcus Walker, a defensive end who led the country in sacks (16) in 2016 and was selected as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-America
selection, benefited greatly from his ongoing development. Together with standout defensive ends Brian Burns (9.5 sacks) and Josh Sweat (7 sacks), the Seminoles topped the nation in sacks per game (3.92).
At the moment, all three players are professional athletes. The Denver Broncos selected Walker in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Burns was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, while Sweat was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the following year.
In addition, Lawing mentored numerous other exceptional defensive linemen, including six first-round selections. He served as a mentor for Melvin Ingram, a 2013 first-round pick, and Jadeveon Clowney, the 2014 No. 1 overall pick at South Carolina. Dante Fowler, a 2014 first-round pick, and Dominique Easley, a 2015 first-round pick, were both coached by Lawing at Florida. Additionally, he worked with two 2000 first-round picks, John Abraham at South Carolina and Julian Peterson at Michigan State.
Outside of his time at Florida State, Lawing coached at Appalachian State (1983-88), South Carolina (1989-98, 2006-12), Michigan State (1999-02), North Carolina (2003-05), Florida (2013-14), and Georgia State (2019).
Lawing is survived by his wife Laura, son Will, daughter Susie Hughes, and grandchildren Natalie, Mary Brooks, and Claire Hughes. Will is a member of the Houston Texans staff in the NFL.
