This story originally appeared in the summer issue of Samford magazine.
When John Grass became head coach at Samford last December—charged with reawakening a football program that posted a 5-18 record the past two years—his first recruiting priority involving bringing in top-flight assistants.
The staff Grass assembled leaned heavily on his time at Clemson and featured a next-gen haul of familiar coaching names.
• Drew Swinney, 26, whose father Dabo has coached Clemson to two national championships, was brought aboard to coach Samford’s wide receivers.
• Cally Chizik, 26, whose dad Gene steered Auburn to the 2010 national title, joined as safeties coach.
• Jake Venables, 26, the oldest son of Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, was hired as strength and conditioning coach, while younger brother Tyler, 24, joined as a defensive analyst focusing on nicklebacks.
• Former Alabama player and longtime Clemson assistant Mickey Conn, 54, joined as defensive coordinator.
• Andrew Zow, 48, who quarterbacked the Crimson Tide to the 1999 SEC championship, was hired to coach Samford’s tight ends.
• New quarterbacks coach Paul Tyson, 25, is a former Alabama recruit and the great grandson of Paul “Bear” Bryant.
• New offensive line coach Brandon Thomas was a two-time All-SEC player at Clemson who played six seasons in the NFL.
“They’re great coaches and elite men. We’ve got really good people on our staff,” Grass said. “I’m very blessed to get these guys to come work for me.”
He sees the staff building chemistry, pouring into player development and taking a genuine approach at a university that values educational standards and faith formation.
“They’re making a huge impact in these young men’s lives,” Grass said. “It’s all about mentorship and giving back to the game.”
The fruits of the staff’s work showed during Samford’s spring game April 16, which was well attended by area prospects.
“We probably had over 150 recruits on campus, and that just doesn’t happen for a spring game,” Grass said. “A lot of work went into that.”
Samford replenished its roster by signing 13 high school recruits and 10 transfers during the spring, emphasizing regional talent.
“We brought in a lot of in-state guys, which is going to be very important for our footprint,” Grass said. “Within three to five hours of our campus is high school football that’s as good as any in the country.”
