Wesley McGriff, class of ’90

A native of Tifton, Ga., Wesley McGriff, class of 1990, is the co-defensive coordinator/ secondary coach at the University of Louisville. McGriff played at South Carolina State for one year before transferring to Savannah State, where he started at outside linebacker for three seasons and was named the conference’s 1989 Male Academic Athlete of the Year.

McGriff has been in the coaching ranks since 1990 when he was hired as a graduate assistant at Savannah State, where he coached for four years. Starting as a graduate assistant, McGriff tutored running backs before coaching the secondary in 1991-92 and then served as defensive coordinator in 1993-94. He was Savannah State’s interim head coach for three months in spring 1993.

The veteran coach has experience coaching in the National Football League with the New Orleans Saints and with four schools from the Southeastern Conference and nine universities overall. These include Savannah State University, Kentucky State University, Eastern Kentucky University, University of Kentucky, Baylor University, University of Miami, Vanderbilt University, University of Mississippi, Auburn University, and the University of Florida.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, graduating cum laude, from Savannah State in 1990 and earned a master’s in public administration from Georgia Southern in 1993. McGriff was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1990 and was a member of the Army Reserves until 2001. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.