Clemson Football Coaching Staff
Last Game
South Carolina
Win
16-7
Nov 25, 2023
Columbia, SC
Next Game
Kentucky
Dec 29, 12:00pm
Jacksonville, FL
ESPN
Dabo Swinney
Head Coach
An illustrious coaching heritage is embedded in the foundation of Clemson football. At the dawn of the 20th century, the Tigers were led by future College Football Hall of Famer John Heisman. Hall of Famers Jess Neely, Frank Howard and Danny Ford followed in Heisman’s winning tradition.
Now entering his 14th season (and 13th full season) as Clemson’s head coach, Dabo Swinney has already carved his name into that foundation, elevating himself amid a pantheon of Clemson greats by becoming the first coach in program history to lead Clemson to multiple national championships.
Swinney’s most recent squad accomplished its “double-double mission” in 2020, going 10-2 in a condensed season to give Clemson 10 consecutive 10-win seasons. Clemson became only the third program in FBS history to accomplish the feat and became the first school to win 10 games in 10 straight seasons as a member of the ACC, as only the final nine of Florida State’s record 14-straight 10-win seasons came during the Seminoles’ tenure in the ACC.
The pandemic-affected 2020 campaign was a historic one for the Tigers both as a team and individually, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence ascended to become the winningest quarterback in school history (34-2) and running back Travis Etienne added the ACC’s all-time rushing crown (4,952 yards) to his arsenal of school and conference records. Etienne’s versatility as a rusher and receiver earned him consensus All-American honors as an all-purpose selection, while Lawrence became the second Heisman Trophy finalist in program history, tying Deshaun Watson (second in 2016) for the highest finish in Heisman Trophy voting in school history.
The prolific backfield duo under Swinney’s tutelage helped guide Clemson to its sixth consecutive outright conference title with a 34-10 win against Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game. That day, Clemson and Oklahoma’s six-year streaks of outright conference titles made the two programs the first among current Power Five programs to win at least six straight outright titles since Oklahoma (12 from 1948-59) as part of the now-dissolved Big 8 Conference.
The conference title helped Clemson secure its record-tying sixth College Football Playoff berth, becoming the first program ever to reach the postseason tournament in six consecutive seasons. Clemson is 6-4 all-time in College Football Playoff games, the second-most wins of any program and twice the number of the third-place program (three, Ohio State).
Clemson finished the 2020 campaign as the nation’s No. 3-ranked squad, the Tigers’ sixth consecutive top-four finish in the AP Poll. In doing so, Swinney joined Florida State’s Bobby Bowden (13), USC’s Pete Carroll (seven) and Oklahoma’s Bud Wilkinson (six) as the only coaches since the AP Poll’s inception in 1936 to record six consecutive top-four finishes. In all, Clemson enters the 2021 preseason having appeared in the top five of 56 consecutive AP Polls, the second-longest streak in poll history.
Going into 2020, Clemson entered the third decade of the 21st century after Swinney helped author one of the most prolific 10-year periods in the history of the sport. Clemson posted a 117-22 record under Swinney’s leadership in the 2010s, and the program’s 117 wins trailed only Penn (124 in the 1890s) and Alabama (124 in the 2010s) to tie for the third-most in a decade in major college football since 1890. Clemson’s 117 wins in 2010s represented the first 100-win decade in Clemson history.
Before a pandemic-shortened season in 2020, Clemson won at least 12 games in five straight seasons from 2015-19, tied for the longest such streak in the modern era and only two seasons shy of Penn’s record seven-season streak from 1892-98. Clemson won 69 games in that five-year span, the most in a five-year stretch in the AP Poll era.
In 2019, the Tigers earned their fifth consecutive College Football Playoff berth following their fifth-consecutive ACC title, becoming the first team in college football history to win five straight conference championship games since conference title games were created in 1992.
Clemson posted a 14-1 season that year, earning its fourth appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in five years. Prior to the season finale, Clemson extended its school-record winning streak to 29 games, tied with Florida State (2012-14) for the longest streak in ACC history and for the 12th-longest in FBS history.
Clemson dominated the vast majority of its 2019 opponents, including posting an eight-game streak of wins by 30 or more points to break the longest streak in the AP Poll era, surpassing the previous mark of seven games set by 2011 Houston and 1976 Michigan. During the campaign, Swinney recorded his 125th win in his 155th career game, becoming the 10th-fastest coach to reach 125 career wins in terms of games coached.
At 140-33, Swinney (.809) enters the 2020 season as the winningest active coach by percentage in the FBS among coaches with at least five seasons of head coaching experience. With the addition of the 2020 ACC Championship, all 12 of Swinney’s recruiting classes have won at least one ACC title in their careers, and every recruiting class since 2012 has earned at least one College Football Playoff berth.
Clemson’s success on the gridiron has been matched by its prowess in the classroom, as Clemson is one of only three programs to earn Top 10 percent APR recognition from the NCAA in at least nine of the last 10 years, joining Duke and Northwestern. Clemson was in the top 10 of APR scores and the final top 25 of the AP and USA Today polls from 2011-15, the only FBS program that could make that claim. In 2017, Clemson became the first school to reach the College Football Playoff and finish in the top five of APR scores in the same year.
Clemson also produced the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy winner (known colloquially as the “Academic Heisman”) in Christian Wilkins and won the program’s first AFCA Academic Achievement Award. Clemson repeated as AFCA Academic Achievement Award recipients in 2019, becoming the only school in the country to repeat and doing so while appearing in the national championship game in both seasons.
Swinney and Clemson’s 2018 season was one for which statistics and superlatives accumulated in historic fashion. The Tigers became the first major college football team in the modern era (and the first since Penn in 1897) to finish a season with a 15-0 record.
The list of “firsts” was long and distinguished. Clemson became the first program to win four consecutive Atlantic Division titles, and with a 42-10 win against Pitt in the ACC Championship Game, the Tigers became the first program to win four consecutive ACC titles outright.
Clemson’s 15 wins included a school-record 12 against teams who finished with winning records. Clemson won by an average margin of 31.1 points per game, the best in the nation and the second-largest in school history, trailing only a 35.3-point average margin in 1900. Among the seasons it passed was a 30.4-point average margin in 1901, a season in which Clemson won one of its five games by a score of 122-0.
Clemson set school records in points (664) and total offense (7,718, also an ACC record). Conversely, the defense held opponents to 13.1 points per game, leading the country in scoring defense for the first time in school history.
A critical point in the season came four games into the campaign. Following a 49-21 win at Georgia Tech in which true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw for four touchdowns in reserve, Swinney and the coaching staff elected to name Lawrence the starter, supplanting senior Kelly Bryant, who had led the Tigers to a 16-2 career record as a starter.
With Lawrence leading Swinney’s Tigers, Clemson took flight. After a dramatic come-from-behind 27-23 win against Syracuse in which Lawrence exited the game with an injury, Clemson rattled off 10 consecutive wins of 20 points or more to conclude the season, including blowout wins of No. 3 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl and No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Seven players earned first- or second-team All-America honors, including a school-record three players who collected consensus honors. The 2018 Tigers produced a team-record 18 All-ACC selections and became the first team to produce the ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year and ACC Coach of the Year in a single season since Florida State in 1997.
Accolades also accumulated for Swinney, who earned his second career ACC Coach of the Year selection and brought home the Woody Hayes Award as national Coach of the Year. Less than a week after winning the national title, he also won the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award, becoming the first three-time winner in the award’s history. Including the 2018 Bryant and Hayes Awards, Swinney has now won national Coach of the Year honors from at least one organization in five of the last eight years.
The 2018 season was preceded by a 2017 campaign in which Clemson was on a mission to prove that it was built to last. Swinney guided the team to a 12-2 record, an ACC title and a College Football Playoff berth despite having only six scholarship seniors and losing players who accounted for 77 percent of the offense during the 2016 national championship season.
While Clemson was ranked No. 5 in the preseason AP Poll, few expected the Tigers to be ranked No. 1 in both polls and the College Football Playoff ranking entering the bowl season. In fact, Clemson was not even the preseason choice to win the ACC Atlantic Division.
Despite a setback in the Sugar Bowl to the eventual national champion, Alabama, Clemson finished ranked No. 4 in both polls. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame following the season.
Clemson’s school-record six wins over top-25 teams in 2017, also a national best, included a school-record four on opponents’ home fields and five away from home. The defense, including three defensive linemen, featured four players who were named All-American, helping Clemson rank in the top four in the nation in scoring defense (No. 2) and total defense (No. 4). Clemson led the ACC in the four major defensive categories (scoring, total, rushing, passing), a first in program history.
The 2016 Tigers lived up to their hype after compiling a 14-1 record and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second-straight year. Along the way, Clemson knocked off five top-25 foes.
Clemson defeated the top two teams in the national polls in consecutive games in the College Football Playoff at the end of the season. The Tigers blanked Ohio State, 31-0, in the Fiesta Bowl, the first shutout suffered by head coach Urban Meyer in his career and the first for Ohio State since 1993.
The Tigers then earned a rematch with No. 1 Alabama, and for the first time in school history, took down the top-ranked team in a second epic battle with the storied Crimson Tide program. Quarterback Deshaun Watson’s touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow with one second left on the clock gave Clemson a dramatic 35-31 victory in Tampa, Fla. Swinney received the Bear Bryant Award as national Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Swinney coached Watson to two record-setting seasons in 2015 and 2016. The two-time Heisman Trophy finalist became the first player in FBS history to total 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season in 2015, and he followed by setting an ACC record with 41 passing touchdowns in 2016. Watson won the both Davey O’Brien Award and Manning Award in back-to-back seasons.
Swinney guided Clemson to the No. 1 national ranking in every College Football Playoff poll in 2015 and led the Tigers to their first national championship game appearance under the new format after his team defeated Oklahoma, 37-17, in the 2015 Orange Bowl. The Tigers led Alabama in the fourth quarter of the championship contest, but came up just short (45-40) in an epic game in Glendale, Ariz.
Following the team’s 14-1 record and No. 2 final ranking, he was the recipient of 10 national and two ACC Coach of the Year honors.
In 2015, a then-Tiger-record 17 players were named to one of three All-ACC teams, including all five starting offensive linemen for the first time in school history. In 2016, 15 players were honored, including a school-record three first-team All-ACC offensive line selections.
The 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons were also noteworthy, with three top-15 final rankings.
With a 40-6 Russell Athletic Bowl victory over Oklahoma in 2014, Swinney became the first and only coach in history to win three bowl games in consecutive seasons over teams whose head coaches had previously won the national title. He upped that mark to five years in a row in 2016.
Clemson capped off the 2013 season with a thrilling 40-35 victory over No. 6 Ohio State in the Orange Bowl. Clemson had an 11-2 record after finishing 7-1 in ACC regular-season games. It marked Clemson’s first back-to-back 11-win seasons in school history. For the fourth time in his first five full seasons as head coach, Swinney was a finalist for the Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year in 2013.
The 2012 season (11-2) was a groundbreaking year for Swinney’s Tigers when looking at the overall consistency of the program. The seven conference wins in the regular season were then a school record, while Clemson was co-champion of the ACC Atlantic Division.
With Clemson’s thrilling 25-24 win over No. 7 LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl, the Tigers finished the season ranked No. 9 in the USA Today poll. It was Clemson’s first top-10 finish in one of the two major polls since 1990. Clemson also reached the 11-win mark for the first time since its 1981 national championship season.
Swinney’s 2011 squad, which ended the season ranked No. 22 in the nation, captured Clemson’s first ACC title since 1991 when it beat No. 3 Virginia Tech, 38-10, in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, N.C. It gave Clemson its first 10-win season since 1990. For his efforts, Swinney was named Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2011 to become the first Tiger head coach to win a national Coach of the Year award since Ford in 1981.
In 2010, Swinney became just the second Tiger coach to lead Clemson to a bowl game in his first two full years as head coach, joining his predecessor, Tommy Bowden. The 2010 schedule was one of the most challenging in school history, as nine bowl teams were on the regular-season slate and two of the four non-conference opponents were ranked in the top 25.
In 2009, Swinney’s first full season as head coach at Clemson, he led the Tigers to their first championship of the ACC Atlantic Division. The Tigers came just six points short of winning their first ACC title in 18 years. Swinney was named ACC Coach of the Year by Sporting News and was a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year.
In October 2008, Swinney was named Clemson’s interim head coach, replacing Bowden, who had been his position coach as a player at Alabama and was Clemson’s head coach since 1999. He led the Tigers to a 4-2 record during the remainder of the 2008 regular season, including a win over South Carolina in the regular-season finale to earn a Gator Bowl bid against Nebraska.
On Dec. 1, 2008, Swinney’s interim tag was removed and he was named the program’s head coach. At the time, there had been 28 interim head coaches at the FBS level since 1970, and those coaches had combined for a record of 26-86-2. Only one of those 28 interim coaches posted a winning record, and that was Swinney. When he was hired as head coach, he became just the second interim coach to be elevated to the head coach position at the same school during that time period.
Swinney hit the ground running in his first week as interim head coach, as he prepared for a 5-1 Georgia Tech team. He had to reorganize his staff and regroup his team and the fanbase in just five days. While the Tigers lost by four points, he accomplished many goals in that first week through his outstanding leadership. One of the most impressive demonstrations of unity came during the team’s “Tiger Walk,” which has since become a staple of Clemson’s game day routine for both the team and fans.
Swinney has demonstrated his dedication to the community through Dabo’s All In Team Foundation. Since 2009, the Swinney family and Dabo’s All In Team Foundation have given more than $5.5 million back to communities and programs in the state. In its inaugural year, the foundation made the first contribution to the cancer fund established for former Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, and many schools followed its lead during the remainder of the season.
The foundation had a banner year in 2019, as it awarded more than $1,082,000 in grant funding to more than 165 deserving organizations and non-profits in South Carolina and raised $400,000 for breast cancer research and prevention during the organization’s annual Ladies Clinic. The foundation’s efforts went virtual in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as the organization’s ALL IN Virtual Fundraising Event alone raised nearly $1 million for organizations and efforts in South Carolina.
Swinney was named as the honorary coach for the 2019 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, a honor for which Watson, a former Good Works Team selection, returned to Clemson to surprise Swinney with during a team meeting.
The 1993 Alabama graduate joined the Clemson staff prior to the 2003 season. In his first 18 years as an assistant or head coach, the Tigers finished in the top 25 of the polls 14 times and totaled 41 wins over top-25 teams.
Swinney coached his wide receiver position to a level of consistency that had not been seen previously at Clemson. He had a wideout finish first or second in the ACC in catches in five of his six years as an assistant coach. In his first year, he had three of the top-10 receivers in the ACC, a first in Tiger history. In his 18 seasons at Clemson, a Tiger wide receiver has earned All-ACC status in 17 of those campaigns, including a first- or second-team All-ACC selection (Derrick Hamilton, Airese Currie, Chansi Stuckey, Aaron Kelly, Jacoby Ford, Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Artavis Scott, Mike Williams, Tee Higgins, Amari Rodgers) in 16 of those 18 seasons.
The Alabama native has a reputation as one of the top recruiters in the nation. In 2006, he was listed as the No. 5 recruiter in the nation by Rivals. He signed 38 players in his five recruiting seasons as an assistant coach and was a major reason Clemson’s 2008 recruiting class was rated No. 2 in the nation by ESPN when he signed 11 players. Clemson’s 2020 class finished as a consensus Top 3 class, earning the top ranking from ESPN, a No. 2 rank by Rivals and a No. 3 ranking in the 247 Composite.
When Swinney accepted the interim head coaching position at Clemson on Oct. 13, 2008, he described his feelings as “bittersweet,” because he was taking over for Bowden, who had been his first position coach at Alabama in the 1989 season. He had also brought Swinney back to the coaching profession in 2003 and has had a profound effect on his life. Both had followed similar paths as players, as Bowden was a walk-on at West Virginia and Swinney was a walk-on at Alabama.
Swinney received a commerce & business administration degree from Alabama in 1993 after lettering three times (1990-92). A walk-on who went on to earn a scholarship, Swinney was a wide receiver on Alabama’s 1992 national championship team. He was also named Academic All-SEC along with being an SEC Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll member in 1990 and 1992.
Along with his appearance in the 1993 Sugar Bowl, his Alabama teams played in the 1990 Sugar Bowl, 1991 Fiesta Bowl and 1991 Blockbuster Bowl. Both Sugar Bowl appearances came after winning the SEC title game.
After his playing career, Swinney served as a graduate assistant at Alabama from 1993-95. In December 1995, he received a Master’s degree in business administration from Alabama.
He became a full-time assistant coach at Alabama in February 1996 under head coach Gene Stallings and coached a total of five seasons there on a full-time basis. Swinney was assigned to coach the Crimson Tide’s wide receivers and tight ends in 1996, a season that saw Alabama win the SEC West Division title. The following year, he solely coached the tight ends.
In 1998, he coached Alabama’s wide receivers, a position he held for three years. At the end of 1999, Swinney coached the Crimson Tide in the 2000 Orange Bowl after winning the SEC Championship Game.
During his time at Alabama, Swinney was a part of six teams with double-digit wins, five top-10 finishes, one national title (1992), three SEC championships (1989,92,99) and five SEC West Division titles (1992,93,94,96,99) as a player and coach.
Swinney married the former Kathleen Bassett in 1994. They have three sons, Will, Drew and Clay. Will, and Drew are both on the 2021 Tiger football team.
Garrett Riley
Offensive Coordinator
• Formally announced as Clemson’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach on Jan. 13, 2023.
• Joined Clemson from TCU, where he served as the team’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in helping lead the Horned Frogs to a 13-2 record, a Fiesta Bowl title and a berth in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in 2022.
• Arrived at TCU following a 2021 campaign in which the Horned Frogs finished 5-7 and produced the nation’s 65th-ranked scoring offense. In his lone season in Fort Worth, he transformed the unit into the nation’s ninth-ranked scoring offense at 38.8 points per game. The explosive group led the FBS with 22 plays from scrimmage of 50 yards or more.
• Honored with the 2022 Broyles Award, presented annually to the nation’s top assistant coach. With Riley’s arrival, three of the seven Broyles Awards winners from 2016-22 will have served as a coordinator on Clemson’s staff, joining 2016 winner Brent Venables and 2017 winner Tony Elliott. He joined his brother, 2015 winner Lincoln Riley, to make them the only brother duo in the award’s history to each earn the honor.
• Led TCU quarterback Max Duggan to the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback, a runner-up finish in Heisman Trophy voting, All-America honors from several selectors and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
• Served two seasons at SMU from 2020-21 in the same role. His offenses with the Mustangs finished in the top 15 in the nation in both scoring offense and total offense in both seasons and helped garner postseason accolades for quarterbacks Shane Buechele and Tanner Mordecai.
• In his three years as an offensive coordinator prior to his arrival at Clemson, all three offenses finished in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense. His units as coordinator at SMU and TCU from 2020-22 combined would rank third in the nation in points per game in that span at 38.6 points per game, trailing only Ohio State (44.0) and Alabama (43.0) in that stretch.
• Riley’s combined SMU and TCU squads would also rank fifth in total touchdowns, sixth in offensive plays of 30-plus yards and 11th in yards per play across the 2020-22 seasons.
• Spent the 2019 season as the running backs coach at Appalachian State. The Mountaineers compiled a 13-1 record including a Sun Belt Conference title and a win in the New Orleans Bowl.
• Mentored Appalachian State’s Darrynton Evans to Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year honors. Evans totaled 1,740 all-purpose yards, including 1,250 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns that year before later becoming a third-round selection of the Tennessee Titans in the 2020 NFL Draft.
• Spent three seasons at Kansas from 2016-18 in various capacities. He joined the Jayhawks as an offensive analyst in 2016 before transitioning to an on-field role as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2017 and its tight ends/fullbacks coach in 2018.
• Made his FBS debut at East Carolina from 2013-15. After spending his first two seasons as a graduate assistant, he was promoted to Outside Receivers Coach in 2015. That year, East Carolina’s Zay Jones caught 98 passes for 1,009 yards as part of the receiver’s FBS-record 399 career receptions.
• Began coaching career in 2011, when he served as a passing game assistant and quarterbacks coach at Roosevelt High School in Lubbock, Texas.
• Moved to the collegiate ranks in 2012, helping rebuild an Augustana (Ill.) College program that was 2-8 prior to his arrival into a 5-5 squad that improved its rushing total by 500 yards during his season as the program’s running backs coach.
• Played quarterback at Texas Tech from 2008-09 under Head Coach Mike Leach before transferring to Stephen F. Austin for the 2010 season. He saw action in 11 games in helping the Lumberjacks to a Southland Conference championship and a 9-3 record under head coach (and former Clemson defensive tackle) J.C. Harper.
• Earned degree in general business from Texas Tech in 2012.
• Said Head Coach Dabo Swinney of Riley’s hire: “Garrett has an incredible track record. His body of work — including this past season when his ninth-ranked scoring offense helped TCU transform from a five-win team into a 13-win national championship game finalist in their coaching staff’s first season — speaks for itself… Garrett was at the top of my list. I am thankful that he shared my belief in Clemson University and our football program, and I am thankful that he wants to be part of our tradition and family. He is a dynamic, young offensive coordinator who will bring a lot of excitement and explosiveness to the Clemson offense.”
• Swinney continued: “I am excited to see what we can accomplish with the young quarterbacks and dynamic playmakers we have on our roster here at Clemson and hopefully light up the scoreboard at Death Valley.”
• Native of Muleshoe, Texas, where he was the 2007 Associated Press All-State 2A Offensive Player of the Year after playing a role in four straight playoff appearances for Muleshoe High School.
• Selected to the American Football Coaches Association 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute in 2021.
Kyle Richardson
Tight Ends Coach / Passing Game Coordinator
• Formally named as Clemson’s passing game coordinator and tight ends coach on Dec. 14, 2021 prior to Clemson’s victory against Iowa State in the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl.
• Though entering his second full season in an on-field role at Clemson, 2023 will represent his eighth season on Clemson’s staff.
• In his first full season as Clemson’s passing game coordinator and tight ends coach in 2022, helped his tight ends group record 67 catches, 748 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 67 catches were the unit’s most under Dabo Swinney, and its 10 touchdowns matched its unit-high mark from the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
• Helped Davis Allen post career highs in receptions (39), receiving yards (443) and touchdowns (five) in 2022 en route to third-team All-ACC honors while Jake Briningstool accrued 285 yards and four touchdowns on 25 receptions.
• Guided Allen and Briningstool as Clemson became one of eight FBS teams — and one of only five in the Power Five — to have multiple tight ends catch at least four touchdown passes in 2022 (Ball State, Kansas, North Carolina, Penn State, SMU, Utah and Western Kentucky).
• Served in numerous capacities at Clemson prior to assuming his current position, including tenures as Senior Offensive Assistant and Director of Player Development and Freshman Transition.
• Was a key off-field contributor to Clemson’s offensive success in support staff roles from 2016-21. Clemson’s balanced attack resulted in the Tigers being one of only three teams in the country with at least 16,000 cumulative rushing yards and at least 23,000 total passing yards across those six seasons.
• During his six years on the support staff, helped serve as an additional resource to then-Quarterbacks Coach Brandon Streeter as Clemson’s quarterback corps produced Heisman Trophy finalists Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence.
• Part of support staff during Lawrence’s career 34-2 record as a starter, as the Georgia native became the winningest quarterback in Clemson history and posted the third-best winning percentage (.944) by a starting quarterback with at least 30 career starts since Division I split in 1978, trailing only Miami’s Ken Dorsey (.950) and USC’s Matt Leinart (.949). Lawrence would go on to become the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
• Served in both football and administrative support roles in 2020 when he was Director of Player Development & Freshman Transition and played a key role in the on-boarding and assimilation of the highly touted 2020 class into Clemson’s program.
• Prior to coming to Clemson, was one of South Carolina’s most successful high school coaches during his tenure at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, S.C.
• As head coach from 2011-15, led the Trojans to a 58-13 (.817) record, including four region championships, three state title game appearances and state championships in both 2013 and 2015.
• Led a Northwestern program that produced NFL quarterback Mason Rudolph, NFL wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, former Clemson defensive end Logan Rudolph and former Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley. Also coached NFL tight end Jared Cook during his time at North Gwinnett (Ga.) High School.
• Helped Northwestern to a record of 107-24 (.817) with eight Region III championships and three state championships in his nine total seasons with the program from 2007-15, including his time as offensive coordinator (2007-10) and head coach (2011-15).
• Part of two undefeated seasons at Northwestern, including a 15-0 year as offensive coordinator in 2010 and a 15-0 campaign as head coach in 2013.
• Inducted into the York County Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 as one of six members in an induction class that also included Jadeveon Clowney.
• Earned his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State in 2001.
• Has two master’s degrees, including a 2020 master’s degree in athletic leadership from Clemson.
• Began his coaching career with assisstant coaching positions at Lee County High School in Sanford, N.C., Avery County High School in Newland, N.C. and North Gwinnett High School in Georgia.
• Said Head Coach Dabo Swinney upon Richardson’s promotion to his current role: “Kyle was one of the best high school coaches in the entire Southeast. Talk about a guy that’s been patient. I hired him, I think he was coming off his third straight state championship appearance. He’s had opportunities and he’s stayed here for a chance to coach at Clemson. He is one of the brightest and most well-prepared guys that we have to step into this role and be the tight ends coach and passing game coordinator. He has got a great acumen for football. He brings great leadership ability from being a head coach for a long time. This is a great next step for him. He’s done a lot of different things within our program in support staff roles, and I’m just really excited to see him have this opportunity. I’m so thankful that he stayed patient and thankful that now I’ve got the opportunity to hire him.”
Wes Goodwin
Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers
• Formally named as Clemson’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach on Dec. 14, 2021 prior to Clemson’s victory against Iowa State in the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl.
• Though in his second full season in an on-field role at Clemson, the 2023 season will be his 12th overall season across two tenures with the Tigers.
• In his first full season as defensive coordinator in 2022, Clemson ranked in the Top 25 nationally in points allowed per game (22nd, 20.9), rushing yards allowed per game (13th, 102.7), yards allowed per carry (9th, 3.25), sacks (T-4th, 44), tackles for loss (2nd, 111), passes defensed (9th, 77) and opponent fourth down percentage (10th, 37.5).
• Guided linebackers Barrett Carter and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. to All-America honors in 2022, while fellow linebacker Trenton Simpson became a projected early round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.
• With his performance in 2022, Carter joined Butkus Award winners Isaiah Simmons and Nakobe Dean among a short list of Power Five players to reach 10 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions in a season since 2019. Trotter was one of only three Power Five players in 2022 to reach at least 13 tackles for loss, six sacks and return an interception for a touchdown, joining two-time Nagurski Award winner Will Anderson Jr. of Alabama and national championship participant Dee Winters of TCU.
• Served in a critical off-field role for former Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables as a defensive analyst from 2012-14 and as senior defensive assistant from 2018-21, overseeing defensive breakdowns and opponent scouting, assisting with on-campus recruiting and also serving as one of the program’s primary liaisons to NFL scouting personnel and coaches.
• First arrived at Clemson in 2009, serving as a graduate assistant from 2009-11.
• Joined the staff on a full-time basis in 2012 and oversaw the team’s secondary for its 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl win against LSU.
• In the final season of his first stint at Clemson in 2014, Clemson finished as the nation’s top-ranked unit in total defense, third down percentage, first downs allowed and tackles for loss, all while ranking in the top five in many other statistical categories.
• Between his stints at Clemson, Goodwin spent three years with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, serving as an assistant to head coach Bruce Arians from 2015-17.
• Cardinals squads for which Goodwin worked compiled a 28-19-1 record, including a 13-3 NFC West championship season in 2015 in which Arizona reached the NFC Championship Game.
• Said Arians upon Goodwin’s promotion to defensive coordinator at Clemson: “Wesley is one of the best young defensive minds I’ve had the opportunity to work with. He was with my staff for three years in Arizona and I saw him grow defensively, and offensively, that whole time. He has a bright, bright future. One thing is for sure – they are going to be an attacking type of defense and I know he is going to do great things with this opportunity.”
• Began his athletic coaching career as a baseball manager at Mississippi State under legendary NCAA baseball coach Ron Polk before transitioning to football.
• Served as a student assistant and graduate assistant for the Bulldogs, working alongside head coach Sylvester Croom, defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson and offensive coordinator (and current Clemson Chief of Football Administration) Woody McCorvey.
• Earned his undergraduate degree from Mississippi State in 2007 and his master’s degree in 2009.
• Said Head Coach Dabo Swinney upon Swinney’s promotion in December 2021: “All I can tell you is Wes Goodwin is special. Everybody that has ever worked with him, everybody who knows him, these players, they know who he is and what he’s capable of … There’s a reason those NFL guys have been trying to hire him. He’s a very, very, very, very talented young coach with an incredibly bright future.”
• Continued Swinney: “Wes has worked with the best of the best. He got his start with Ellis Johnson, and I worked with Ellis at Alabama. Ellis is one of the best. He worked with Kevin Steele; Kevin is one of the best. And then he’s been around some great ones in the NFL. Spent time with Sylvester Croom as well. He and I [smiling] have both done a tour of duty with Bruce [Arians]… We’ve always had that connection, and Bruce has tried to take him back, but we were able to hang on to him. He’s worked obviously with Brent [Venables], so he has a wealth of experience that I think he will tap into and do it his way.”
• Native of Grove Hill, Ala.
Mickey Conn
Co-Defensive Coordinator / Safeties
• Became Clemson’s full-time safeties coach in January 2017.
• Added the role of Special Teams Coordinator in early 2021.
• Guided Nolan Turner to a second-team All-America and second-team All-ACC selection in 2020. Turner’s three picks led Clemson as the Tigers finished in the top 10 in the nation in interceptions.
• Oversaw a veteran unit in 2019 that included seniors Tanner Muse and K’Von Wallace, who earned first- and third-team All-ACC honors, respectively, in helping Clemson allow an opponent passer rating of 105.37, the second-lowest in the country. It was Clemson’s best ranking in opponent passer rating since leading the country in that category in 2014.
• Shared 2019 FootballScoop Defensive Backs Coach of the Year honors with Cornerbacks Coach Mike Reed.
• Muse was a Thorpe Award semifinalist and third-team AP All-American in 2019 who became the first Clemson defensive back to earn All-America status from the Associated Press since cornerback Cordrea Tankersley’s third-team selection in 2016. Muse was the first Clemson safety to earn AP All-America honors since Jayron Kearse in 2015.
• With Muse and Turner in 2019 and 2020, respectively, Clemson had a safety honored by NCAA-recognized All-America selectors in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1981-82, when Terry Kinard parlayed first-team honors by the AP and FWAA in 1981 into unanimous All-American honors in 1982.
• Helped Clemson’s 2019 defense hold opponents under 300 yards in each of the first 12 games of the season, the first unit on record since 1996 to do so. Clemson finished in the Top 10 in total defense (228.3 yards per game) for a sixth straight season, the longest active streak in the country.
• Produced a second-team All-ACC honoree in Muse and an Honorable Mention selection in Wallace in 2018, as the 15-0 national title squad led the nation in scoring defense (13.1 points per game).
• His safeties helped Clemson rank fifth in the nation in pass efficiency defense (106.9) in 2017.
• Served as senior defensive analyst in 2016, helping the Tigers to the program’s second national championship with a victory over his alma mater, Alabama.
• Contributed to a Clemson defense that finished tied for first in the nation in fewest passing yards allowed per attempt (5.6) and fourth in passing efficiency defense (100.2). Clemson was also sixth in interceptions (20) and eighth in total defense (311.5).
• Came to Clemson after 16 seasons as head coach at Grayson (Ga.) High School. The Rams were 137-48 with seven region titles, a state championship in 2011 and a state semifinal playoff appearance in 2015.
• Grayson High School finished in the top 25 in the nation four times, including No. 3 in 2011. It reached the No. 1 ranking in the nation twice during his tenure.
• Began his coaching career at Grayson High School on March 21, 2000, and started his career at Clemson on March 21, 2016.
• He owned the most victories at the highest classification in the state of Georgia before he came to the Clemsonn football program.
• Inducted into the Gwinnett County (Ga.) Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
• Coached several current college and NFL players at Grayson High School, including two-time All-ACC running back Wayne Gallman, the No. 5 rusher in Clemson history. He also coached former Clemson starting cornerback Ryan Carter and former backup quarterback Nick Schuessler.
• Former Tiger quarterback Chase Brice is Conn’s nephew.
• Coached at his alma mater, South Gwinnett High School in Atlanta, in 1998 and 1999. David Greene, who went on to play four years as a starter at Georgia, was his quarterback.
• Former graduate assistant coach at Alabama in 1996 and 1997. He was on staff when Dabo Swinney was a full-time coach with the Crimson Tide. Alabama was 10-3 and went to the Outback Bowl in 1996 with Conn and Swinney on staff.
• Was a teammate of Swinney at Alabama, as they were both on 1992 national championship squad under Head Coach Gene Stallings. Conn lettered during the 1992, 1993 and 1994 seasons, but was on the team from 1990-94. He redshirted during his freshman season.
• Earned a bachelor’s degree from Alabama in 1995.
• Earned a Master’s degree from Ball State in 2006.
Mike Reed
Cornerbacks / Special Teams
• In eight years on staff, he has helped the Tigers to a 100-12 record and four national championship game appearances, including national titles in 2016 and 2018.
• Placed two cornerbacks on the 2020 All-ACC team, as Derion Kendrick earned first-team honors and Andrew Booth Jr. earned a second-team selection as the defensive backfield helped Clemson to a sixth consecutive ACC title and College Football Playoff berth.
• Shared 2019 FootballScoop Defensive Backs Coach of the Year honors with Safeties Coach Mickey Conn, as Reed’s corners helped Clemson finish third in the nation in scoring defense (13.5 points per game) and fourth in the nation in total defense (288.3 yards per game) in 2019, ranking second in opponent passer rating (105.37) and fourth in the country in passing yards allowed per game (172.3).
• Produced two All-ACC selections in 2019, as A.J. Terrell earned a first-team selection, while Derion Kendrick earned a second-team selection after transitioning to the position only six months prior to the season.
• Placed both 2018 starting corners on the All-ACC team, including Trayvon Mullen’s second-team selection and Terrell’s third-team nod. Helped both play major roles in Clemson’s 44-16 National Championship Game win, as Terrell opened the scoring on a pick-six, and Mullen earned Defensive MVP honors with six tackles, an interception, a sack and a caused fumble.
• Contributed to Clemson’s 2018 defense leading the nation in scoring defense (13.1 points per game) for the first time in school history.
• His cornerbacks helped Clemson rank fifth in the nation in pass efficiency defense (106.9) in 2017.
• Coached two first-team All-ACC defensive backs in Jadar Johnson and Cordrea Tankersley in 2016.
• His defensive backs contributed to the 2015 Tigers ranking fourth in the nation in third-down defense.
• Coached first-team All-ACC cornerback Mackensie Alexander, second-team All-ACC safety Jayron Kearse and third-team All-ACC cornerback Cordrea Tankersley in 2015 en route to being named FootballScoop Defensive Backs Coach of the Year.
• Helped the 2014 squad lead the nation in total defense (260.8), while also ranking in the top five in many other statistical categories. Coached first-team All-ACC cornerback Garry Peters that season.
• His defensive backs combined for 15 interceptions in 2013. Bashaud Breeland, who had a team-tying-high four interceptions and 74 tackles, was a second-team All-ACC selection and a fourth-round draft pick.
• His defensive backs helped Clemson finish 10th in the nation in turnovers forced (30) in 2013.
• Was the defensive backs coach at NC State for six seasons (2007-12).
• Coached NC State All-American David Amerson, who ranked third in ACC history in career interceptions (18). As a professional coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, he worked with former Clemson All-American and nine-time Pro Bowl selection Brian Dawkins.
• Helped the Wolfpack to four bowl games in his six years with the program. That includes 2012, when NC State beat a top-five Florida State team and played Vanderbilt in the Music City Bowl.
• Three times in his last five years in Raleigh, NC State finished in the top 20 in the nation in interceptions.
• The 2011 NC State squad had 27 interceptions, the most by an FBS school since 2003, when Nebraska had 32. The total tied for second-most in ACC history and the most since 1994, when Virginia had 27 interceptions.
• In 2011, Amerson had 13 interceptions to lead the nation, five more than any other player. It tied for the third-most interceptions in NCAA history. Amerson also led the nation in interception return yards (205) and tied for the lead in interception returns for touchdown (2). Amerson was a unanimous All-American in 2011, when he was also a Thorpe Award finalist and won the Jack Tatum Award.
• In addition to Amerson, Reed also coached four different all-conference players at NC State across six seasons.
• Played on three bowl teams that finished with top-25 AP rankings, including the 1993 season when Boston College upset top-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend.
• Played three seasons for Tom Coughlin, who went on to win two Super Bowl championships with the New York Giants, and his senior year for Dan Henning, who also went on to coach in the NFL.
• Was the last selection of the 1995 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers and played two seasons (1995,96) for that team, including the 1995 team that played its home games at Memorial Stadium. He also played for the NFL Europe team in Frankfurt and was team captain of the 1999 team that won the World Bowl.
Lemanski Hall
Defensive Ends
• Moved into one of the 10 full-time coaching positions as defensive ends coach in 2018.
• Along with Defensive Tackles Coach Todd Bates, comprised a duo that was one of four finalists for 2020 FootballScoop Defensive Line Coach of the Year.
• Coached a group of edge rushers that helped Clemson finish tied for first in the country in sacks (46) and second in the country in tackles for loss (109) in 2020.
• Helped true freshman Myles Murphy make an immediate impact in 2020, helping him collect Freshman All-America status from The Athletic, ESPN, Rivals and the Football Writers Association of America and be named ACC Co-Newcomer of the Year by the AP.
• Guided a group that helped Clemson hold opponents under 300 total yards in each of the first 12 games of the season in 2019, becoming the first program to accomplish the feat in data available back to 1996.
• Helped lead Xavier Thomas to a third-team All-ACC selection in 2019.
• In his first season as an assistant coach in 2018, he helped Clemson win a national title and set a school record with 54 sacks, the third most by any FBS team since 2000. The unit led the nation in sacks and tied for the national lead in tackles for loss (136).
• Helped Clelin Ferrell win the Ted Hendricks Award and ACC Defensive Player-of-the-Year while earning consensus All-America status in 2018. Fellow starter Austin Bryant took home third-team All-ACC and Cotton Bowl Most Outstanding Player honors.
• Served as a defensive analyst in 2015 and 2016 and as a senior defensive analyst in 2017, helping the Tigers to a 40-4 record, three ACC championships and three College Football Playoff berths in those three seasons. In his first four years at Clemson, the Tigers faced Alabama, his alma mater, in the postseason. Clemson faced Alabama just once in the 40 years prior to his arrival at Clemson.
• Clemson has finished in the top four of the AP and coaches polls in every season since his arrival, the longest streak in Clemson history. Clemson has been ranked in the top 5 of the AP Poll in 88 of a possible 98 polls in his tenure (89.8 percent), tied with Alabama for the most in that time frame. That includes each of the last 56 polls prior the 2021 preseason poll, the second-longest streak in AP Poll history.
• His relationship with Head Coach Dabo Swinney dates to their college careers at Alabama. Both were members of the 1992 national championship team. Hall earned first-team All-SEC honors in 1992 and was a UPI Honorable Mention All-American. He was captain of Alabama’s 1993 team and was named to the Alabama All-Decade team for the 1990s.
• The Alabama native led the 1992 Crimson Tide national championship team in tackles (70), including eight tackles for loss and five sacks. He added 76 tackles as a senior in 1993. He was named first-team All-SEC by the coaches in both seasons.
• Alabama had a 40-9-1 record during his four seasons and played four bowl games. The Crimson Tide won three of those bowl games, including a 34-13 victory over Miami (Fla.) in the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 1992 season that gave Alabama the national championship.
• Drafted by the Houston Oilers and played in the NFL for nine seasons and 101 games from 1994-02. His top year came in 2001 when he had 62 tackles for the Vikings, tied for fifth on the team. He started 13 games and played all 16 games that year, helping the Vikings to the second round of the playoffs.
• Upon his retirement as a player, began his career as a volunteer coach at Centennial High School in Franklin, Tenn. He then did an internship with the Tennessee Titans through the NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship. In this role, he observed NFL coaches and worked with them to evaluate players.
• Worked as a recruiting coordinator and professional performance director at D1 Sports Training & Therapy. He coached football and served as the strength & conditioning coach at Christ Presbyterian Academy before moving on to his career at The Ensworth School.
• Came to Clemson prior to the 2015 season after seven years as linebackers coach and fitness instructor at The Ensworth School.
• Attended Valley (Ala.) High School, where he played quarterback and defensive back. As a senior, he totaled 1,110 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. He also had 20 interceptions on the way to winning all-state honors.
Nick Eason
Defensive Tackles
• Returned home to his alma mater on Jan. 7, 2022 upon being hired as Clemson’s defensive run game coordinator and defensive tackles coach.
• Veteran of 17 combined NFL seasons as a player and coach who joined Defensive Ends Coach Lemanski Hall to give Clemson’s talented defensive line group the guidance of a coaching duo with 26 combined seasons of NFL experience.
• In his first season at Clemson in 2022, helped Tyler Davis earn All-America honors, a first-team All-ACC selection and a semifinalist nod for the Chuck Bednarik Award in addition to helping Bryan Bresee become a projected early round 2023 NFL Draft pick.
• His defensive tackles produced 14 of Clemson’s 44 sacks and 31 of its 111 tackles for loss as the Tigers finished in the top four in the nation in both categories in 2022.
• In his first year in the conference, he earned 247Sports’ ACC Recruiter of the Year for his first recruiting cycle, which ended on National Signing Day in 2023.
• Said Head Coach Dabo Swinney upon Eason’s hiring: “Nick is the epitome of what I look for in a coach. He has an incredible passion for the game, he has got a great background and he truly loves the player. In this hire, I really wanted a guy who had great experience at the NFL level. I wanted somebody who has coached the best of the best at the highest level, and that’s exactly what he’s done. He was a great player at Clemson and he’s a great Clemson man.”
• Prior to returning to Clemson, he served as defensive line coach at Auburn in 2021, helping the Tigers to their largest sack total since 2018.
• Coached a defensive interior that helped Auburn allow the third-fewest yards per carry in the SEC and finish fourth in the conference in tackles for loss in 2021.
• Served as outside linebackers and defensive line coach for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2019-20. In his first season, Eason led significant improvement in the Bengals’ defensive line as the season progressed, notching an 11-sack improvement and an 84.1-yard reduction in yards per game in the final eight games of the season as compared to the first eight games.
• Helped Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins earn his eighth career Pro Bowl selection.
• Briefly served as a defensive assistant at Austin Peay for part of 2018.
• Was hired by the Tennessee Titans in 2014 and helped oversee Tennessee’s transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 front.
• Spent two seasons as an assistant defensive line coach for the TItans from 2014-15 before becoming the Titans’ outside linebackers and defensive line coach in 2016-17.
• Helped defensive tackle Jurrell Casey to the first three of his five career Pro Bowl selections to date through 2021 in those four years.
• Began his transition to coaching in 2013 as a coaching intern for the Browns, for whom he had previously played three seasons from 2004-06.
• Was a four-year letterman at Clemson from 1999-2002, playing 47 games with 35 starts and recording 15 sacks and 30 tackles for loss.
• Among those who he played with at Clemson were current Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter and former Clemson offensive coordinators Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott.
• Was a team captain, All-ACC selection and Strength & Conditioning All-American at Clemson. He was a two-time Dedication Award winner as awarded by the Clemson strength & conditioning staff.
• Selected to the AFCA Good Works Team in 2000 and was the first five-time Clemson recipient of the ACC Top Six award, which was presented annually to the conference’s top student-athletes in terms of community involvement.
• Became the first Clemson football player to graduate with two years of eligibility remaining after earning a degree in sociology in August 2001. He later added a master’s degree in human resource development in 2008.
• Was a fourth-round selection by the Denver Broncos in the 2003 NFL Draft, but he spent his rookie season on the Reserve/Injured list after suffering an Achilles injury during training camp.
• Played 117 NFL games over 10 seasons from 2003-12 with the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals.
• Finished his playing career with the Cardinals, where he spent two seasons from 2011-12, appearing in 32 games and registering two sacks.
• Spent four seasons with the Steelers from 2007-10 and helped the team to two Super Bowl appearances, including a victory in Super Bowl XLIII in the 2008 season.
• Said upon his hire at Clemson: “To have this opportunity to come back to Clemson is a blessing from God. It is a dream for most coaches to have the opportunity to coach at your alma mater and that is the case for me. Clemson is a special place. It has been family to me since I first took a visit as a recruit in 1997.”
Tyler Grisham
Wide Receivers
• Named as Clemson’s full-time wide receivers coach on Feb. 6, 2020.
• Served as Clemson’s interim wide receivers coach for portions of the team’s bowl preparation in 2019 after Co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Jeff Scott was announced as the new head coach at USF. Scott returned after the early signing period to coach through the College Football Playoff.
• Though in his second season as a full-time coach, he is entering his 12th overall season in a variety of roles at Clemson, including four as a player (2005-08), two as a graduate assistant (2014-15) and four as an offensive analyst (2016-19).
• In addition to serving as an offensive analyst, he served as assistant camp director in 2018 and 2019.
• Despite fielding a unit that was without three of its top four outside receivers for the majority of the season, helped Clemson produce a school-record 348.5 passing yards per game in 2020, surpassing the 333.9 passing yards per game averaged by Clemson’s 2016 national championship squad.
• Produced two All-ACC performers in his first season in 2020, placing Amari Rodgers on the first team and Cornell Powell on the third team. Clemson was one of only two schools with multiple selections at receiver.
• Helped Powell become one of the breakout stars of 2020 as a fifth-year senior, helping him record career highs in receptions (53), receiving yards (882), receiving touchdowns (seven) after entering 2020 with 40 career receptions for 329 yards and three touchdowns in his first four years from 2016-19.
• Helped Clemson to a 32-19 record and four bowl appearances as a player from 2005-08, then helped the program to a 79-8 record and 10 bowl appearances in six years as a support staff member from 2014-19 for a combined 111-27 record at Clemson in playing and support staff roles before his hire as receivers coach.
• Served as an added resource for a staff that has produced Clemson’s illustrious line of wide receivers while in a support role. During his time as a graduate assistant and offensive analyst from 2014-19, Clemson produced five receivers — Artavis Scott (2014,15,16), Mike Williams (2014,16), Deon Cain (2017), Hunter Renfrow (2017,18), Tee Higgins (2018,19) — who earned 10 All-ACC selections.
• Prior to his full-time hire, six of Clemson’s 10 most-prolific passing yardage seasons in school history at the time had come during his time on Clemson’s support staff.
• Said Head Coach Dabo Swinney of Grisham’s hiring as the full-time wide receivers coach: “I’m just super excited for Grish. There’s never been a guy more prepared to be the receivers coach at Clemson than Tyler Grisham. He had a great four-year career here. Clemson fans certainly loved him. He had a lot of big moments and went on and grinded out a four-year NFL career… He’s ready and is going to do an unbelievable job for us. He’s going to be special.”
• Is a 2009 graduate of Clemson University, earning his bachelor’s in business administration and management. He later earned a Master’s from Clemson in human resource development in 2016. He is one of four Clemson graduates among the Tigers’ 10 full-time assistant coaches in 2020, including Danny Pearman (1987), Brandon Streeter (1999) and Tony Elliott (2002).
• Was four-year letterman for the Tigers from 2005-08. He finished his career with 132 receptions for 1,390 yards and eight touchdowns.
• Signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent in 2009, appearing in four games that season. He served on the Steelers’ practice squad in 2010 and 2011 and with the Denver Broncos’ practice squad in 2012.
• Native of Birmingham, Ala., who was an all-region selection while playing wide receiver, tailback, quarterback and defensive back at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Ala.
C.J. Spiller
Running Backs
• Named as Clemson’s running backs coach on Feb. 5, 2021.
• Said Head Coach Dabo Swinney upon Spiller’s hire: “He is one of the greatest ambassadors that we’ve had for our program for a long time and now for him to be able to come back and be able to sow seeds into these young men and teach all the things he’s learned throughout his career, there’s not a guy on this staff that’s more committed and more ALL IN for Clemson than C.J. Spiller, that’s for sure… To have C.J. out on the road recruiting and have him leading these young men day in and day out is something I’m really, really excited about.”
• Served as an unpaid coaching intern during the 2020 season
• In 2020, assisted a coaching staff that helped Travis Etienne become a consensus All-American as an all-purpose/athlete selection, becoming the 29th player ever to earn consensus All-America honors at Clemson and the school’s 31st total consensus selection. Spiller and Etienne comprise two of Clemson’s three all-time consensus All-Americans at running back.
• While on staff in an unpaid role, watched Etienne break Clemson single-season records for a running back in receptions (48) and receiving yards (588) and tie the running back mark for 100-yard receiving games (two) while adding two receiving touchdowns. Etienne joined Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley as the only Power Five players to post 900 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in a single season since 2015.
• Stands as one of the most decorated and beloved players in Clemson history from his four-year career as a running back for the Tigers from 2006-09.
• Was selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021, earning the distinction in only his second year of eligibility.
• Became Clemson’s eighth inductee in the College Football Hall of Fame, joining four coaches (John Heisman, Jess Neely, Frank Howard and Danny Ford) and three players (Banks McFadden, Terry Kinard and Jeff Davis). At the time of his selection, Spiller became one of only 1,038 players and 223 coaches have been immortalized in the Hall, putting him in the top 0.02 percent of those who have played or coached the sport.
• Inducted into both the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame and South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020 for his immense contribution to athletics at both the university and state levels.
• His historic college career culminated with a senior season in 2009 in which he finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting after winning ACC Player of the Year and being selected as a unanimous first-team All-American. He became the first player in the history of the Walter Camp All-America team to be first or second-team All-American at two positions in the same year.
• Still holds ACC single-season and career records for all-purpose yards, posting 2,680 in 2009 and finishing his career with 7,588, which was second-most in FBS history at the time of his graduation.
• Was one of the most exciting players in the sport’s history, as he recorded 21 career touchdowns covering at least 50 yards and had an ACC-record eight kick returns for touchdowns in his career.
• Was also a three-time All-American in track and first-team strength All-American in 2008.
• Entered the coaching ranks after an eight-year NFL career from 2010-17 after being the ninth overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
• His NFL career included tenures with the Bills, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, and he was a Pro Bowl selection in 2012. He and college teammate Jacoby Ford remain the only Clemson products ever to record multiple rushing touchdowns, multiple receiving touchdowns and multiple kick return touchdowns during an NFL career.
• Graduated from Clemson with a degree in sociology in three-and-a-half years on Dec. 17, 2009, receiving a standing ovation from the Clemson University Board of Trustees, the first such occurence for a student-athlete.
Thomas Austin
Offensive Line
• Formally announced as Clemson’s offensive line coach on Feb. 2, 2022.
• Served as interim tight ends coach in preparation for the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl following some staff changes and absences prior to bowl season.
• Entering his seventh season across two tenures with the Clemson staff including off-field roles.
• In his first year as Clemson’s offensive line coach in 2022, he produced the program’s 10th Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner in tackle Jordan McFadden. McFadden was a first-team All-ACC selection.
• Helped Will Putnam, a multi-year starter at guard, transition seamlessly to center in 2022 and earn third-team All-ACC recognition in his first season at the position.
• Mentored right tackle Blake Miller to Freshman All-America honors in 2022 after Miller became only the third true freshman to start a season opener at offensive tackle for Clemson since 1944, joining Mitch Hyatt (2015) and Phil Prince (1944).
• In an off-field analyst capacity in 2021, assisted Robbie Caldwell as Clemson navigated a number of injuries across the offensive line that resulted in the Tigers starting seven different offensive line combinations through 13 games. Despite the injuries and attrition, Clemson limited opponents to one sack or fewer in eight games in 2021 and ranked second in the ACC in fewest sacks allowed (21.0).
• Spent the 2019-20 seasons as the offensive line coach at Georgia State.
• In his debut season with the Panthers, his unit helped power Georgia State to 241.6 rushing yards per game, good for No. 12 in the nation.
• His tutelage helped three of his five starters (left tackle Hunter Atkinson, left guard Shamarious Gilmore and center Malik Sumter) at Georgia State to all-conference honors and guided a fourth (right tackle Travis Glover) to Freshman All-America status. Atkinson would go on to earn an NFL free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons.
• Spent four years on Clemson’s support staff from 2015-18, helping the Tigers to three national championship game berths and two national titles in that span.
• Started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Clemson in 2015. Spent three years in an on-field GA role before moving to an off-field video GA position for Clemson’s 2018 national championship season.
• Served in a support role on a staff that helped 10 offensive linemen to 17 total All-ACC selections from 2015-18: Mitch Hyatt (four), Tyrone Crowder (three), Jay Guillermo (two), Justin Falcinelli (two), and Eric Mac Lain, Joe Gore, Taylor Hearn, Tremayne Anchrum, Sean Pollard and John Simpson (one each). Also returned to assist a staff that helped Jordan McFadden earn All-ACC honors in 2021 before Austin was named as the program’s offensive line coach for 2022.
• Took the reins to the Clemson offensive line from veteran offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell, who transitioned into an off-field administrative role after 2021. Caldwell coached 532 career games at the collegiate level over 44 years before entrusting the unit to Austin.
• Starred along Clemson’s offensive line from 2006-09, appearing in 48 games with 39 starts, including starting each of his last 38 games.
• Played 2,501 snaps from scrimmage in his Clemson career, the 13th-most of any player at the time of his graduation.
• Was a third-team All-America selection by the Sporting News in 2009 and also earned Strength & Conditioning All-American status as well.
• Earned All-ACC selections in both 2008 and 2009 as part of a unit that powered running back C.J. Spiller to eventual induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
• Was a three-time All-ACC Academic selection, earning the honor in each of his last three seasons at Clemson. Prior to the selection of the 2021 team, he was one of only 19 Clemson players to earn at least three career All-ACC Academic Team selections since the conference was founded in 1953.
• Team captain on Clemson’s 2009 squad that went 9-5 and earned Clemson an ACC Championship Game berth in Dabo Swinney’s first full season as head coach.
• Played four years in the NFL with the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts from 2010-13.
• Earned a political science degree from Clemson in 2009.
• Native of Camden, S.C.