Swinney Supports Son at Samford’s Spring Game
By: Gavin Oliver April 18, 2026

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was in attendance for Samford’s spring game Thursday night at Pete Hanna Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.

Of course, Dabo was there to support his son, Drew Swinney, who has gotten a new coaching opportunity at the FCS school.

Drew left the Clemson program after the 2025 season and is now the new wide receivers coach at Samford under John Grass, who was named the program’s new head coach this past December after spending the last four seasons on Clemson’s staff.

Dabo was pictured wearing a red Samford shirt and a Samford hat, showing support for Drew in his role as a position coach.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney celebrates with wide receiver Drew Swinney after Drew scored on a fake extra point during the third quarter of the ACC Championship Game vs. North Carolina at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on December 3, 2022. (Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider)

“I’m excited for Drew,” Dabo said in December. “Just going to be a great next step for him. Again, pretty cool that his first job to go run the [wide receivers] room is in Birmingham. My mom’s there, my in-laws are there. Because you don’t ever know. You have no idea where your first job to go run [the room] is going to be. So, excited for him … and he’s so prepared. He’s a stud. I know he’s my son, but he’s a stud. He’s going to be really, really good.”

Drew came to Samford after spending the last two seasons as a player development/assistant wide receivers coach at Clemson. In that role, he assisted the offensive coaches in developing the wide receivers and identifying coverages in game.

In the 2023 season, Drew worked as a graduate assistant at Clemson. In that role, he served as an assistant to the offensive coaches and was in charge of the scout team and coverage identification.

Drew — who earned his B.S. degree in marketing from Clemson in 2022 and also earned an MBA from Clemson in 2023 — appeared in 40 career games as a wide receiver for the Tigers from 2018-22, playing on Clemson squads that earned four ACC championships, three College Football Playoff berths and the 2018 national title. He recorded 14 career receptions for 96 yards in addition to serving as the team’s starting holder on placekicks in his final season in 2022.

Samford’s spring game saw the defense defeat the offense, 34-20. Along with Drew, the game featured several other former Clemson staffers who are now assistants under Grass — defensive coordinator Mickey Conn, special teams coordinator Will Gilchrist, running backs coach Montralius Mosley, offensive line coach Brandon Thomas, quarterbacks coach Paul Tyson and tight ends coach Andrew Zow.