Colorado School of Mines Athletics

Recruiting Areas: Northern Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming

Clement Grinstead completed his 23rd season on the Colorado School of Mines football staff in 2023, having been the common thread through the most successful period in program history under four head coaches. While at Mines, Grinstead has coached on nine RMAC championship teams and been a part of nine NCAA tournament appearances with the Orediggers while winning 194 games. Grinstead, who coaches the running backs, is also the special teams coordinator and director of football operations.

Grinstead has coached eight 1,000-yard rushers including two-time all-American Cameron Mayberry (4,074 yards, 52 touchdowns), two-time 1,000-yard rusher Sam Seeton, and the explosive Michael Zeman, who became Mines' all-time leading rusher in 2022 with 4,463 career yards and 55 career touchdowns. Zeman was a 2021 all-American and finished fourth in the Harlon Hill voting.

In 2017, Mayberry ran for 1,563 yards in 2017 to break the Mines single-season record that had stood since 1939, leading Mines to the #10-ranked rushing offense in the nation; he followed that up with a 1,615-yard, 23-touchdown 2018 campaign to become Mines' all-time leading rusher. In 2019, Mayberry and Zeman combined to help Mines break the program record for team rushing (3,269 yards) as Mines went 12-1 and won the RMAC title. The 2023 season saw Mines rank 18th nationally in rushing offense led by the all-RMAC duo of Noah Roper and Landon Walker, who combined for 1,750 yards and 28 touchdowns on the ground.

The past seven seasons have seen Mines produce eight of the top nine all-time rushing performances in program history, including seven 400+ yard games. Grinstead's special teams have also excelled over the past several seasons, ranking first in the RMAC in punting and kickoff coverage in 2016 and tops in field goals in 2017. 

In 2013, the Orediggers posted an 8-3 record, including a 7-2 record in the RMAC to finish second in the league standings. The 8-3 record gave Stitt his 12th winning season in 14 years and a program-record seventh-straight winning season overall. The Orediggers opened the season with a program-record 727 yards of offense on 108 plays in the squad’s 72-6 win over South Dakota Mines. Also in that game, Mines tied a 40-year-old NCAA Division II record with 42 first downs, set by Delaware in 1973. Two weeks later, Stitt’s squad again set a school record for total offense with 749 yards in the squad’s 62-22 win over Black Hills State. Senior linebacker Tyler Denson garnered a pair of All-Region accolades, while sophomore kicker/punter Avery Llewellyn joined him on the Don Hansen All-Super Region squad. A total of 11 players earned All-RMAC accolades, led by Special Teams Player of the Year honors Llewellyn, while Denson also earned First Team All-RMAC distinction. Llewellyn also captured Special Teams Player of the Year distinction while leading six players on the NFFCC All-Colorado squad in 2013. Senior Chad McGraw and junior Court Pietra were both named First Team Academic All-Americans by Capital One/CoSIDA during the 2014 season and led a total of 16 players to Academic All-RMAC distinction. Additionally, McGraw was a national semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy – given annually to the top academic and athletic player in all of college football. Junior Matt Brown earned a pair of National Offensive Player of the Week awards, while Denson also earned the same award for the defensive side. The squad finished inside the top-25 of several NCAA statistical categories, including: net punting (1st, 41.00), kick return average (4th, 25.89), scoring defense (7th, 17.0), first downs (7th, 319), passing offense (10th, 319.0), total offense (11th, 494.1), time of possession (13th, 32:52), passing efficiency defense (15th, 107.21), third down defense (19th, 0.324) and fourth down conversion percent (22nd, 0.596). Mines also finished in the top-three in the RMAC in 24 different statistical categories as well, including leading the conference in fewest penalty yards per game (56.2).

The 2012 version of the Orediggers posted a 6-5 record during the 2012 campaign, including a 4-5 record in the RMAC, to finish fifth in the league standings. The Orediggers spent the first four weeks of the season ranked in the AFCA Top-25 - rising to as high as No. 18 in the country. Senior Taylor Accardi and David Pawelek earned a total of nine All-American accolades from numerous publications, while Accardi ended his career as one of the most prolific punters in the history of college football. In total, nine members of the team were named to the All-RMAC squads, including First Team honors for Accardi, Pawelek and senior Iain Smith. Accardi was named the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Year for the second-straight season as well. Jerrod Doucet, Cody Renken, Nate Behrends and Jake Utley all earned Second Team All-RMAC honors while Matt Brown and Chad McGraw were named Third Team All-RMAC. A total of 10 players earned NFFCC All-Colorado laurels, led by Special Teams Player of the Year honors for Accardi. Accardi, Pawelek and Smith were all named All-Region as well during the season. The Orediggers led nation in three statistical categories, including net punting (41.59), punting average (Accardi - 51.1) and forced fumbles (Chad McGraw - 8). In Mines' 42-37 loss to New Mexico Highlands, sophomore quarterback Matt Brown would go into the record books in four statistical categories in the contest after finishing 52-of-80 for 606 yards and four touchdowns through the air. His 606 passing yards broke the school record of 506 yards set by David Pesek against New Mexico Highlands in 2009. His 80 pass attempts broke a school record of 65 set by Clay Garcia against New Mexico Highlands in 2011 and his 52 completions broke the school record of 45 set by Chad Friehauf during his Harlon Hill award-winning campaign against Pittsburg State in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2004. Brown also broke Friehauf's record of 559 yards of total offense in the game with 600 in the game. Jerrod Doucet broke the school record for receptions in a game with 16 and that record was later tied by Pawelek in the squad's 45-6 win over Western State, which set a new NCAA Division II record for receptions in a game by a tight end. Head Coach Bob Stitt's high-octane offense was featured on the front page of the USA Today Sports section during the 2012 season (Full Article). The Orediggers averaged 84 plays and 455.7 yards per game, the latter placing the squad 23rd nationally for the category. The offense averaged 366.09 passing yards per game (fifth nationally) and 39.27 points per game (15th nationally). Matt Brown finished fifth in the nation in total offense per game (364.82) and fifth in passing yards per game (352.1). 

The Orediggers posted an 8-3 record in 2011 and a 6-3 mark in the RMAC to finish third in the league standings. Mines spent much of the season in the national rankings and placed eight players on the All-RMAC teams. The Mines offense led the conference and finished eighth nationally with 305.9 passing yards per game during the 2011 season, and the offense finished 42nd nationally with 31.6 points per game and 48th nationally with 401.6 yards of total offense per game. 2011 also saw the third running back in Mines history to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a season after Dan Palmer ran for 1,016 yards and 18 touchdowns. 

The Orediggers finished second in the RMAC and 14th in the country in scoring offense (36.50 ppg), as well as second in the conference and 18th in the nation in total offense (437.50 ypg), during the 2010 season.  RB Dan Palmer, who carried 157 times for a team-most 684 yards (4.4 ypc), earned Third Team All-RMAC recognition.  Palmer scored 11 rushing touchdowns in 2010, becoming the first Oredigger to reach double figures in that category in five seasons.

Grinstead saw Jahre Cheeseman earn Second Team All-RMAC honors in 2009.  Cheeseman finished in the top 10 in the RMAC in scoring (tied - fourth; 8.0 ppg), rushing (sixth; 69.9 ypg) and rushing yards (eighth; 629).

In 2008, former Oredigger Corey Huck finished sixth in the RMAC in rushing en route to earning Third Team All-RMAC honors.

Grinstead also guided former CSM running back Bryan Florendo to his second consecutive First Team All-RMAC selection in 2006. Florendo, who in 2006 became the first Oredigger to rush for 1,000 yards (1,018) since 1939, also garnered NFF First Team All-Colorado and Don Hansen's National Football Gazette Third Team All-Southwest Region accolades in 2006. Florendo was also selected as the Offensive Player of the Year on the 2006 NFF All-Colorado Team.

During his first three seasons at Mines, Grinstead helped Craig Van Horn earn back-to-back-to-back Second Team All-RMAC honors. Van Horn departed CSM with 2,575 career rushing yards, ranking him second all-time in program history. Van Horn also finished his career as Mines' all-time leader in yards per carry (5.2).

Grinstead, a native of New Orleans, earned a B.A. in history and criminology from Coe College in 1995. Grinstead lettered while playing linebacker at Coe and led his squad to the NCAA Playoffs.

A resident of Golden, Grinstead spent a year coaching at Jefferson High School before coming to Colorado School of Mines.