TIGERS
Associate AD • Football Operations 32nd Season at Clemson Clemson ‘79
Andy Johnston is in his 17th year with the Tiger football program and serves as associate athletic director for football operations. His responsibilities include managing the program’s day-to-day operations. Although this is his 17th year with the football program, he has been involved with the athletic department for 30 years. From 1983-97, he was the winningest women’s tennis coach in school history. Johnston guided his squads to five consecutive ACC titles (198387), 12 top-25 finishes, and six NCAA Tournaments. He was named ACC Coach-of-the-Year for the fourth time in 1993. Seven of his players were named to the ACC 50-Year Anniversary team in 2002. He had a 254-160 Clemson record and 263-167 career mark. He was the coach at Furman in 1982 before coming to Clemson. His best season at Clemson was his rookie year when the team had a 30-5 record and finished #7. He coached former Lady Tiger Gigi Fernandez, who was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 2005. He played tennis at Clemson and earned his degree in administrative management in 1979. He then served as the assistant men’s tennis coach in 1980. Johnston is a native of Summerville, SC. He is married to the former Sophie Woorons. He has a daughter, Kiera, and a son, Noah. A second daughter, Caylynn, passed away in 2008.
Don Munson is in his fourth year with the Clemson athletic department in a full-time capacity. He is a familiar name to Tiger fans, because of his involvement with the Clemson radio network for the last 18 seasons. Munson took over the new position of creative media services director in July of 2010. He has department-wide responsibilities, with an emphasis on football. Munson supervises the football recruiting website and social media sites, provides online video features for ClemsonTigers.com, and serves as the master of ceremonies for the Prowl & Growl meetings during the spring. Munson also continues to serve as the host of the Clemson football and basketball coaches radio call-in program, “Tiger Calls,” and provides play-by-play commentary on various Clemson Olympic sports. Munson has covered Clemson athletics since 1994, when he first joined the network as the network’s football pregame, halftime, and Fifth Quarter Show host. In 2003, he rejoined the network as host of the Tiger Tailgate Show and Fifth Quarter Show. When Jim Phillips passed away in 2003, he assumed the duties as host of Tiger Calls and play-by-play announcer for women’s basketball and baseball. Munson is a 1984 graduate of Appalachian State with a B.S. degree in communications. He was the play-by-play announcer at Appalachian State from 1984-91. Married on May 26, 1984, Munson and his wife, Elizabeth, have one daughter, Michelle.
DANNY POOLE
TIGERS
ABE REED
Abe Reed has been at Clemson in a full-time capacity since 1998, but this is his first year as director of equipment for football. He coordinates all the football team’s equipment needs, which includes travel. Reed is a 1997 graduate of Houston, where he earned a biology degree. He was a student manager at Houston, then landed a fulltime assistant position at Clemson. He has been involved with all Tiger sports during his career, but has seen his most service with football. Reed has been the AEMA District III secretary since 2011 and was the AEMA District III Equipment Manager-of-the-Year in 2012. He is marred to the former Holly Hepfer of Sumter, SC. They have two children, a son, Lance, and a daughter, Lillian.
THAD TURNIPSEED Director of Recruiting & External Affairs 1st Season at Clemson Alabama ‘95
Thad Turnipseed is in his first year as director of recruiting & external affairs. Turnipseed works closely with Dabo Swinney, Jeff Scott, and the rest of the staff in terms of the organization of all recruiting activities. Turnipseed came to Clemson after spending the previous 11 years at Alabama, where he was director of facilities improvements. He coordinated projects with vendors to ensure timely completion of construction projects. One of the projects he oversaw was the expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium. Turnipseed earned a B.A. degree from Alabama in political science in 1995, with a double minor in geology and general business. He was a member of the football team from 1990-92 and became a student assistant from 1993-95 after an injury. He and Swinney were both members of Alabama’s 1992 National Championship team. Prior to joining the staff at Alabama, Turnipseed was a project manager at Beaver Construction from 1995-97 as well as owner of Calvary Construction and Calvary Flooring from 1997-03. Turnipseed is married to the former Melissa Nix. The couple has three daughters, Mallory, Marian, and Marlee, and a son, Lee.
ANDREW WARWICK Graduate Assistant 2nd Season at Clemson Knox ‘07
TIGERS
Director of Equipment (Football) 16th Season at Clemson Houston ‘97
TIGERS
Damonte McKenzie is in his fifth year with the Clemson football staff. He was a strength All-American as a player for the Tigers in 1999. McKenzie played defensive tackle under Tommy West and Tommy Bowden during his career (1995-99). He was an Honorable Mention All-ACC selection in 1999 when he helped Clemson to a bowl game. He finished his career with 100 tackles in 41 games (15 starts). McKenzie signed a free-agent contract with the Cowboys. He played two years in NFL Europe with Rhein Fire and Amsterdam Admirals. McKenzie, who earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management in 2007, earned a master’s degree in youth development from Clemson in 2010. The Baltimore, MD native was an assistant coach at Wren High School for two years and T.L. Hanna High School for one year before coming to Clemson in 2008 as a graduate assistant.
Danny Poole is in his 13th season as Clemson’s director of sports medicine, but he is a veteran of 30 years working in the Tiger athletic training facility. He supervises the athletic training needs of all student-athletes, but his primary area of emphasis is with the football program. He has 33 years of full-time experience in the athletic training field. Poole served as head athletic trainer for the Carolina Chargers of the American Football Association in 1979. In 1980, he became an assistant trainer at Memphis. During his career as a full-time assistant there, he earned his master’s degree in health education. Poole came to Clemson in 1984 as an assistant under trainer Fred Hoover. Poole was honored in 2001 with the Athletic Trainers Service Award. It is presented by the National Athletic Trainers Association to role models who are future leaders of the training profession. In 2012, he was named to the WellBalance Scientific Advisory Board. The Charlotte, NC native is married to the former Beth Morgan. The couple has two daughters, Jacqui Elaine and Abby Blair. A 1979 Western Carolina graduate, Poole earned a bachelor’s degree in health & physical education.
Brad Scott is in his 15th year with the Clemson program, including his third as an assistant athletic director. He moved into administration in 2011 after 12 years as an assistant coach from 1999-10. His 12-year tenure, which included supervising the offensive line, is tied for the ninthlongest for an assistant coach in the program’s history. Scott works primarily with the football program in various administrative duties, but he has department-wide responsibilities when it comes to serving as a liaison between Clemson and high schools in securing documents needed to gain admission. Clemson had great success on the gridiron during Scott’s tenure. At the time of his retirement, the Tigers recorded seven of the topnine yards-per-play seasons in school history, six of the top-eight seasons in total offense, each of the top-five touchdown teams, and each of the top-nine passing yardage teams during his 12-year career. He also coached 15 First or Second-Team All-ACC players, including five who earned All-America honors. Scott served under Bobby Bowden at Florida State from 198393. He was the program’s offensive coordinator from 1990-93. In 1993, Florida State won its first national title and Seminole quarterback Charlie Ward became the school’s first Heisman Trophy winner. Scott later served as head coach at South Carolina from 1994-98. Scott is a 1979 graduate of South Florida and earned a master’s degree from Florida State in 1984. He was born on September 30, 1954 in Arcadia, FL and is married to Daryle. The couple has two sons, Jeff and John). Jeff is an assistant coach on the Clemson football staff and John is a doctor in Boston, MA.
TIGERS
DAMONTE McKENZIE
CLEMSONTIGERS.COM
Assistant AD • Director of Recruiting 15th Season at Clemson South Florida ‘79
TIGERS
TIGERS
Brandon McCombs is in his fourth year at Clemson and his first under the position special teams analyst/research development. He works with kickers and has had a positive effect on the performance of Chandler Catanzaro, one of the most accurate kickers in Tiger history. He was 18-19 on field goals in 2012, the best accuracy in Tiger history. McCombs began his career working as a student assistant at Clemson in 2009 and was a player development coach in the strength training room from 2010-12. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Clemson in 2009. The native of Easley, SC is single.
Defensive Player Development 5th Season at Clemson Clemson ‘07
Director of Creative Media Services 4th Season at Clemson Appalachian State ‘84
Director of Sports Medicine 31st Season at Clemson Western Carolina ‘79
BRANDON McCOMBS Special Teams Analyst/Research Development 4th Season at Clemson Clemson ‘09
BRAD SCOTT TIGERS
ANDY JOHNSTON
STAFF
DON MUNSON
TIGERS
each of his last two years. He played in four bowl games for the Tigers, including the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl when he had 15 tackles. Hamlin’s best year was in 2008 when he had six interceptions and 10 pass breakups. He had 18 career takeaways, second-most in Clemson history, and 243 career takeaway return yards, third-best in Tiger history. He was later a fifth-round draft pick of the Cowboys.
FOOTBALL SUPPORT STAFF
Andrew Warwick is in his second year with the Clemson football program. He is a graduate assistant working with the Tiger defense. Warwick is a 2007 graduate of Knox College in Galesburg, IL, where he was a three-year starter at tight end and wideout. He won he Mike Cross Award as the team’s top receiver for the 2006 season. The native of Oklahoma City, OK began his coaching career in 2008 when he became defensive backs coach at Thomas More College and helped it to a conference title. He spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons at Central Oklahoma, where he coached defensive backs. In 2011, he coached at Coffeyville (KS) Community College.
2013 FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE
31