Whammy Would Be Terrific Hire

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Clemson has two coaching vacancies to fill in the secondary with the departures of John Lovett and Thielen Smith. Lorenzo Ward, secondary coach at Virginia Tech, would be a great candidate now or a in the future. Ward played at the University of Alabama with current Clemson wide receivers coach Dabo Swinney from 1986-1990. Ward was named The Sporting News #1 special teams player in the country. He is known by many as "Whammy" because of his hard-hitting on special teams.

Ward will complete his sixth season at Virginia Tech after the Sugar Bowl matchup with Auburn. Ward oversees corners and safeties for the Hokies. In Ward's previous five seasons, he has produced five All Big East players. Four of Ward's corners have earned Big East honors as well as free safety Willie Pile. DeAngelo Hall was a first round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2004.

Prior to joining the Tech coaching staff, Ward was a coach at UT-Chattanooga and Alabama. He was named the defensive coordinator at UT-Chattanooga in 1998 after serving as the Mocs' running backs coach in 1997. Prior to working with the running backs, Ward was the defensive backs coach. He coached strong safety Ron Faugue, who earned both second- and third-team All-America honors in 1996.

Ward is a terrific recruiter who signed Kevin Jones, the nation's number-one recruit, five years ago at Tech. He is also recruiting Clemson running back target James Davis of Atlanta, GA. He has a good relationship with Tommy Bowden and Dabo Swinney through their days at Alabama and through FCA.

Here is a background on Ward according to Virginia Tech's official website:

Personal

Born: April 26, 1967, Greensboro, Ala.

Hometown: Greensboro, Ala.

Wife: former Tara Tubbs

Child: Lorenzo Donovan Ward, Jr.

Education

High School: Greensboro Public School West Campus (1986)

College: University of Alabama (1990)

Coaching Experience

1991-93 Alabama (graduate assistant)

1993 Newnan High (assistant coach)

1994-98 UT-Chattanooga (secondary/running backs)

1999- Virginia Tech (defensive backfield)

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