CLEMSON — Though Lonnie Galloway is coaching at Clemson for the first time in his 30-year career, he already feels at home.

For one, he has known head coach Dabo Swinney for a long time, as well as fellow assistant coaches Chris Rumph, Mike Reed, Tyler Grisham and Lorenze Ward. It also helps that his daughter, Anna, is a recent Clemson graduate and his oldest son, Hayes, is a redshirt freshman on Clemson’s offensive line.

“My daughter just graduated here, and she is now going to grad school here. My son just transferred here. I got a lot of good friends and good relationships down here, too, so it’s been an easy transition,” Galloway said. “Coach Swinney is a great guy to learn from. To come to work every day, I mean, the building is so pleasant. Everyone here is so nice. There’s one goal, and that is to come in and have fun and pour everything you have into these kids.”

With his daughter back at Clemson and now seeing his son every day, Galloway says he feels almost at home. His wife, Winslow, and his youngest child, Griffith are back in North Carolina still, as Griffith finishes high school.

“I got almost everyone here,” Galloway said with a smile. “It’s fun seeing my other two kids, but it’s all good because my youngest is playing high school football. It’s a big year for him.”

It’s a big year for dad, too.

Galloway steps into a great situation at Clemson with so many playmakers at wide receiver. The former North Carolina receivers coach has already been helping Tyler Grisham coach them up since he got here in January.

Galloway is considered one of the top wide receiver coaches in the country, especially with the way he has developed talent thought the years, including the previous six seasons at UNC. Some of his pupils in Chapel Hill include, Josh Downs, Dyami Brown, Dazz Newsome, Antoine Green, Tez Walker and J.J. Jones.

From 2019-2023, Galloway helped produce at least one 1,000-yard receiver every season in Chapel Hill. He has produced 14 players that went on to play in the NFL, including nine drafted wide receivers since 2012.

Now Galloway’s expertise will be used in Clemson, which should help what many already consider a very strong wide receiving corp. The Tigers return All-American candidate Antonio Williams, along with budding stars in Bryant Wesco, T.J. Moore and Tyler Brown.

“This is a very special group,” Galloway said. “There are a lot of good guys here, a lot of good players here. Some I recruited and some I didn’t, but the chemistry that they have in that room, Coach Grisham has done a wonderful job building the chemistry.

“The tradition that Clemson has had with its receivers, it’s getting back to it.”

As an offensive analyst and wide receivers coach, Galloway says his goal this coming season is to learn as much as he can from Swinney and help offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, Grisham and the offense be the best unit it can be.

Before his time at UNC, Galloway was the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Louisville for three seasons (2016-18).

“I just came down here to see where I can fit in and help the best way I can,” Galloway said. “Coach Grisham has been nice enough to let me come in and help him a little bit with the receivers, so that’s where my focus will be, just giving my opinions and some of my suggestions on helping coach the receivers.”

—photo by Bob Donnan / Imagn Images