Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Football
- Title:
- Defensive Line
Kansas State, 1999
• Coach Joe Bob Clements joined the Oklahoma State coaching staff in January of 2013 immediately after helping lead his alma mater, Kansas State, to the Big 12 title in 2012. Six of Clements’ 11 years in Stillwater have resulted in 10-win seasons for OSU.
• Clements coached OSU’s defensive line from his arrival through the end of the 2021 season, then he took charge of OSU’s linebackers. He was elevated to OSU’s co-defensive coordinator in January of 2023 and also maintained his coaching duties at linebacker.
• In 2023, he coached Nick Martin to first team All-Big 12 honors in Martin’s first year as a starter. Martin finished No. 3 in the FBS with 83 solo stops and his 140 total tackles were the most by a Cowboy since 1984. Collin Oliver was a second-team All-Big 12 selection.
• In his first season working with the linebackers in 2022, Clements coached Mason Cobb to All-Big 12 honors, while Cobb and Xavier Benson were also two of OSU’s three leading tacklers.
• OSU had a first team All-Big 12 lineman in seven of Clements’ nine years as D-line coach: DT Calvin Barnett in 2013, DE Emmanuel Ogbah in 2014 and 2015, DT Vincent Taylor in 2016, DT DeQuinton Osborne in 2017, DE Jordan Brailford in 2018 and DE Brock Martin in 2021.
• Oklahoma State has had two players lead the Big 12 in sacks and Clements coached both of them - Emmanuel Ogbah, who averaged 1.00 per game in 2015 and Jordan Brailford, who had 0.69 per game in 2018.
• Seven of Clements’ 11 seasons in Stillwater have produced a team tackles for loss total that ranks among the top 10 single-season marks in school history - including the school record of 114 in 2021.
• In Clements’ nine seasons as the OSU defensive line coach, the unit averaged 26.5 sacks per season. In the three years prior to Clements’ arrival, Cowboy defensive linemen averaged 19.5 sacks per season.
• In 2021, Clement’s D-line helped OSU lead the nation and set the school record with 57 total sacks and finish No. 2 in the FBS with 114 tackles for loss. Collin Oliver was a freshman All-American who finished No. 7 in the FBS and set an OSU freshman record with 11.5 sacks.
• In a shortened 2020 season, Clements’ defensive line unit helped the Cowboys rank No. 9 in the FBS with 8.1 tackles for loss per game and No. 16 with 3.0 sacks per game.
• Despite losing every starter from the previous season, the 2019 defensive line had just one fewer tackle than the 2018 unit. The inexperienced group combined for 30 quarterback hurries and 12 passes broken up, both of which represent the highest marks since Clements arrived in 2013. As a team, OSU had 47 quarterback hurries in 2019, a mark that ranked fourth in school history.
• The Cowboys of 2018 led the Big 12 and ranked 10th nationally with 3.00 sacks per game and ranked second in the Big 12 and 20th nationally with 7.4 tackles for loss per game.
• Clements’ 2017 defensive line finished with more tackles for loss than any other defensive line unit during the Mike Gundy era at OSU (2005-present), as the 2017 defensive linemen combined for 53.5 tackles for loss. The previous record was 52, set in 2016.
• Defensive tackle Vincent Taylor finished 2016 as the FBS leader with four blocked kicks and his 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks were the most for any interior defensive lineman in the Big 12. He earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from both the coaches and the media.
• Clements’ top pupil in 2015 was first-team All-America defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, who was a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award presented to the nation’s top defensive end and earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors from both the coaches and AP.
• In 2014, Ogbah became the first Oklahoma State player ever named Big 12 defensive lineman of the year and became just the fifth OSU defensive lineman - the second in Clements’ first two years at OSU - to earn first-team All-Big 12 honors.
• During Clements’ 16 combined years as a player, staffer and full-time assistant coach at K-State, the Wildcats won two Big 12 championships, four Big 12 North championships, won 10 or more games in a season nine times.
• In 2012, K-State led the Big 12 in scoring defense, ranked second in rushing defense, turnovers gained and sacks and was third in both total defense and pass efficiency defense. One of Clements’ defensive ends, Meshak Williams, was honored as Big 12 defensive lineman of the year after leading the league in sacks and another, Adam Davis, was a second-team all-Big 12 honoree who led the league with four fumbles forced.
• From 2004-05, Clements served as K-State’s recruiting coordinator. The two recruiting classes he spearheaded produced future NFL players Zac Diles, Yamon Figurs, Tearrius George, Justin McKinney and Reggie Walker.
• Clements spent seven seasons as a full-time member of the K-State coaching staff, plus two seasons at San Diego State and one season at Kansas prior to joining the staff at OSU.
• At San Diego State from 2006-07, Clements’ time was highlighted by the performance of first-team all-Mountain West Conference defensive lineman Antwan Applewhite, who was the first Aztec defensive lineman to earn first-team all-Mountain West Conference honors in seven years.
• At Kansas in 2008, Clements helped coach the Jayhawks to an eight-win season and a win over division champion and archrival Missouri. The 2008 Jayhawks picked up a convincing 42-21 win over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl.
• Clements broke into coaching as a student assistant at K-State in 1999, was elevated to a graduate assistant post with the Wildcats in 2001 and earned his first full-time coaching position when Bill Snyder promoted him to K-State defensive ends coach in 2003.
• Clements played defensive end at K-State from 1994-98. He was a member of five bowl teams with the Wildcats, highlighted by trips to the Cotton and Fiesta Bowls.
• Clements graduated from Kansas State in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications, then added a master’s degree in counseling (student development) from KSU in 2009.
Personal
• Clements and his wife, Pelusa, have four children, Orianna, Chance, Emma and Kaden. Chance plays linebacker at Oklahoma State.
Year By Year
| Year | School | Position |
| 1999-2000 | Kansas State | Student Assistant |
| 2001-02 | Kansas State | Graduate Assistant |
| 2003-05 | Kansas State | Defensive Ends |
| 2006-07 | San Diego State | Defensive Line |
| 2008 | Kansas | Defensive Line |
| 2009-11 | Kansas State | Defensive Line |
| 2012 | Kansas State | Defense Run Game Coord./DE |
| 2013-pres. | Oklahoma State | Defensive Line from 2013-21; |
| Linebackers from 2022-present; | ||
| Co-Def. Coord. from 2023-present |
Bowl Games
1999 Holiday Bowl
2001 Insight.com Bowl
2001 Cotton Bowl
2002 Holiday Bowl
2004 Fiesta Bowl
2008 Insight Bowl
2010 Pinstripe Bowl
2012 Cotton Bowl
2013 Fiesta Bowl
2014 Cotton Bowl
2015 Cactus Bowl
2016 Sugar Bowl
2016 Alamo Bowl
2017 Camping World Bowl
2018 Liberty Bowl
2019 Texas Bowl
2020 Cheez-It Bowl
2021 Fiesta Bowl
2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl
2023 Texas Bowl
Prominent Pupils
Antwan Applewhite, Carolina Panthers
Calvin Barnett, Cleveland Browns
Jimmy Bean, Oakland Raiders
Caleb Blakesley, Kansas
Jordan Brailford, Washington Football Team
Adam Davis, Kansas State
Thomas Houchin, Indianapolis Colts
Kevin Huntley, Atlanta Falcons
Emmanuel Ogbah, Miami Dolphins
DeQuinton Osborne, Dallas Cowboys
Andrew Shull, Detroit Lions
Vincent Taylor, Buffalo Bills
Meshak Williams, Baltimore Ravens
