This is the second of a three-part series on former Gamecocks coaching in the NFL. The first featured Travelle Wharton.
One of the biggest moments in Lemuel Jeanpierre’s time at South Carolina was really forced on him.
After coming to USC to play defensive line and redshirting in 2005, Jeanpierre burst onto the scene in the Gamecocks’ Liberty Bowl win over Houston with 17 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
That performance led him to think not only was he in line to play more next season, but also that he could be one of the starters on the defensive line.
But then he looked around at the players in the room. Eric Norwood, who would ultimately set the career sack record at USC, was just a sophomore. Three vaunted freshmen — Travian Robertson, Clifton Geathers and Ladi Ajiboye — all enrolled.
And Jeanpierre realized his best path to the field wasn’t on defense but rather on the offensive line.
“One of those things where you say, ‘OK, cool. I guess I gotta find somewhere else to go,’” Jeanpierre says. “We just loaded up. I was like, ‘I guess I should go over here.’”
That move changed the trajectory of his career.
Jeanpierre would go on to start 19 games on the offensive line the next three seasons while also graduating with a degree in retail management. It was enough to land him an undrafted free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks where he ultimately started in two Super Bowls.
“Part of the reason why I committed South Carolina was the thought of building something and bringing the championship there,” Jeanpierre says. “Just having that opportunity to kind of build that and be there and do that.”
Once his playing career ended in 2016, he jumped into coaching, where he used what he learned playing both sides of the ball to move up to where he is now as an assistant line coach for the Miami Dolphins.
“That helped me a lot by being around different coaches on the other side of the ball and being with other players, learning Xs and Os,” he says. “You get around like coach (Steve) Spurrier. We had a lot of coaches on staff that were DCs and OCs at other levels. It was just hearing how they approached players and gave information and coached was helpful.”
His career — even dating back to his time in Columbia — has been defined by winning cultures.
In Seattle, he was a part of five playoff teams in six seasons with three division titles, two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl win. As a coach, he’s been part of two playoff teams with both coming the last two seasons with the Dolphins.
But, for him, it all started at South Carolina.
Jeanpierre’s teams laid the foundation for an SEC East championship and three 11-win seasons. His senior season was also the first of five-straight wins over Clemson.
“I think it says a lot about just what was going on in Columbia,” he says. “I think it was like an underdog mentality. You go there and then that's when you have that mentality. You have guys like that together. You create those bonds of learning and fighting together. So those things carry over to coaching.”