In the early 2000s, a young athlete stood to the side of a high school track, quietly readying himself for competition in a 4x100 meter relay race in Atlanta. His team was good - really good. The foursome had been timed as fast as 41.2 seconds overall, considered by many to be the best in the state of Georgia.
In a few short minutes he would run the race’s third leg. He would be tasked with making a clean handoff at full sprint to his team’s anchor man, Brandon Hill, who would then barrel towards the finish line.
The anchor man finishes the race. Yet Mays High School's coach for the event, Terry Davis, has always felt the third leg was key.
“The third leg slams the door, on the curve,” Davis explained to GamecockCentral.com. “He could flat get it. If it was a tie, he was going to break it.”
That day, however, Davis was concerned. He watched as his student solemnly prepared, knowing something was wrong. The day before, the student’s grandfather had passed.
“You don’t really push kids when stuff like that happens,” said Davis. “I went over and asked him, how are you doing? He said, ‘I’m alright coach.’”
The race began, and the student ran the leg splendidly, posting a time that bested that of his other teammates. Then he did something that his coach said illustrates the kind of drive that his runner has always exhibited, a story the coach has never forgotten but never spoken about until now.
“He ran that leg and once he gave Brandon Hill that baton, he went over to the side to the stands and cried. I was like wow, man," said Davis. "This guy just ran the fastest leg of his relay, didn’t let the team down, and then went over and did that.”
The student’s name was Bryan McClendon, now a 34-year old man, and South Carolina’s offensive coordinator.
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McClendon, the middle child in a house of three brothers, has known the game of football since an early age. His father, Willie, starred as a running back at the University of Georgia in the 1970s before playing several years in the NFL. Willie estimates that Bryan attended his first football camp at the age of four.
"He just took to it," said Willie McClendon. "He loves the Xs and Os of the game, understands the nuances when it comes to coaching and his communication skills with his athletes."
From a very early age, those close to McClendon were able to get a sense for his work ethic, zeal for winning, and intelligence, all traits that have helped McClendon rise quickly through the coaching ranks.
Brent McClendon, Bryan's younger brother, played college football at Georgia State and is now an assistant coach at NAIA program Reinhardt.
"Competitive, ultra competitive,' Brent said when asked to describe his brother. "We competed in everything. It didn't matter what it was, paper football, tic tac toe. He hates to lose. He’s caring, though. He’s very smart, witty."
"When he was a senior, we had practice during spring break," said Terry Davis, who also coached McClendon in football at Mays. I let them know we were going to practice during spring break, not going off and then everyone have a good time and we lose because everyone's out of shape. We asked the seniors what did you want to practice. Bryan spoke up and said: '4 a.m., coach.' We were done by six."
After his standout high school career in track and football, Bryan McClendon signed to play football for Mark Richt at his parents' alma mater, the University of Georgia.
He enjoyed his best season as a senior in 2005, catching 35 passes for 529 yards and six touchdowns. One of the biggest plays of his career came against South Carolina in Athens, catching a pass on third-and-22 from the Georgia 8 that allowed the Dawgs to continue running clock and eventually hold on against the Gamecocks for a two-point win. After a short stint with the Chicago Bears, the team his father played for, McClendon jumped into coaching.
His younger brother could see the blossom of the career path that Bryan eventually took, one that could see McClendon as an FBS head coach sooner than later.
"You know how people play Madden, the video game?" Brent McClendon asked. "He loved the EA Sports game, 'Head Coach'. We would both play 'Head Coach' instead of Madden. We just started to pick up the lingo."
After two years as a graduate assistant, Bryan McClendon was put on the field by Richt as the running backs coach. He would eventually pick up more responsibilities: recruiting coordinator, passing game coordinator, assistant head coach. He coached Georgia's wideouts during the 2015 season and served at Georgia's interim head coach for the bowl game. While in Athens, McClendon recruited some of the Dawgs' top players, including running backs Isaiah Crowell, Nick Chubb, Todd Gurley, and Sony Michel. That was in addition to standout starters at other positions like Isaiah McKenzie, Lorenzo Carter, Kendall Baker, and Isaiah Wynn.
Brent traces his brother's success in recruiting to his background and how he carries himself, allowing his own appetite for work and his ability to relate to many different people spill over into his recruiting pitches.
"He's not coming in reading off a script like a lot of coaches do," he said. "He's not reading off a pamphlet. Everything's personal and he makes it personal. A lot of people don't understand the kid, nobody gets them. He's actually lived in it, where we lived and our friends. He knows where some of these kids come from and the predicaments they come from."
"Coach B-Mac had a major impact just by me earning his trust and vice versa. The first day I met him, he told me straight up. He was honest with me throughout the whole process. He told me nothing would be given to me," Sony Michel relayed to GeorgiaDogs.com in October of 2015.
Will Muschamp hired McClendon away upon taking the head job in Columbia and made McClendon his co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach. The rest, as they say, is history, with McClendon earning the right to call plays for the Gamecocks going forward.
“The command he had with our staff and our players was amazing,” Muschamp said this week after officially announcing McClendon as his new offensive coordinator. “The leadership ability he has a coordinator and a future head coach is obvious to me."
"That joker is a go-getter," said Terry Davis. "I'm just so proud of him. From southwest Atlanta, they don't know anything but hard work and 'let's go get it.' He likes to get the small things done right and make sure they’re done right. He’s such an asset. Very disciplined, very professional. He was like that even as a student."
Willie McClendon met his wife at the University of Georgia and cheered his son on for years as a player and assistant coach in Athens. He said he's had no problem in quickly switching his allegiance. Like everyone else around his son, it was easy to envision the future success.
"Bryan has always been focused in his efforts, whatever they were and very conscientious about doing the things to achieve what he wanted to do," Willie said. " None of it has surprised me."
ALSO SEE: THE INSIDERS FORUM is the home for the latest detailed word on what's happening with USC athletics and recruiting, discussion, and much more | Insider notes on expected contract extensions | What type of offense with McClendon run? Get a better idea in this insider feature...
