Calvin Clements had a better than average start to his college career. As a true freshman, the Lawrence native played in three games for Kansas, starting in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against UNLV at left tackle.
The experience granted him a chance to show that he belonged at this level. To do that, he kept things simple in his head.
“At the end of the day, it’s just football,” Clements said. “It’s not anything crazy. Yes, it’s at the college level, but I tried to control all my emotions and my mentals and tried to play ball like I know how to do.”
The start of his second year didn’t go the way Clements had hoped. Coming off the high of a successful freshman season, an injury sidelined him for most of spring ball. A chance to move up the depth chart was replaced by time spent rehabbing.
That’s where redshirt junior Nolan Gorczyca came in. As one of the older members of the offensive line, he tries to help the young bucks learn what to eat and stick to a clean diet. It’s a lot of chicken and rice or beef and rice, but nutrition is an essential area that Gorczyca believes to be an underrated part of the sport.
“It’s important to start early, that’s why I try to get Calvin and a lot of the guys who just came in and get started on the right foot,” Gorczyca said. “It’s that one part of your game that people forget about.”
Clements said that Gorczyca is someone in the room that he can turn to on nutrition. Although Clements might not have the same strict diet that Gorczyca has, he takes a lot from him. During the rehab process after Clements’s spring injury, Gorczyca was there to make sure that Clements was eating well to boost the recovery process.
“I was like, ‘Hey, let’s make sure not to put a bunch of fat on while you’re recovering,'” Gorczyca said. “He actually did a really great job with that. He was really staying on his nutrition.”
Fall camp became an even bigger opportunity for Clements. While Clements didn’t make it on the two-deep depth chart to start the regular season, he could still play an important role along the offensive line later on.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes compared Clements to a St. Bernard or a Great Dane. They’re both big and physical with immense upside. Grimes said that usually means those types of linemen take longer to develop or even return from injury, like Clements has had to do.
“They don’t look like much for a while, but when they’re fully grown and developed and they become coordinated, that’s an impressive animal,” Grimes said. “He’s still in that awkward teenage stage in terms of his body and making it all work right.”
Grimes knows Clements well, as the former offensive coordinator at Baylor. Clements initially committed to the Bears in June 2022. The three-star offensive tackle then committed to KU in December of 2022 ahead of his freshman year. Listed at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds, Clements came out of high school with size you can’t teach and refinable tools that can make a starting offensive linemen.
“I like him, and I think he’s certainly going to be a great player for us,” Grimes said.
To reach that upside, Clements has worked on developing as much physically as he has mentally. The physical difference between a 19-year-old and a 23-year-old is already drastic, but that becomes particularly obvious along the trenches. Nutrition and the physical development might be a forgotten part of the game for some, but with the team’s resources and the help of veterans like Gorczyca, Clements might be closer to leaving that awkward teenage phase and switch from the freshman pup into the big dog in the trenches that KU can rely on.
Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World
