The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks’ football team has a new addition to their coaching roster with the hiring of Todd Galloway as the new offensive coordinator and student-athlete development.
“We had a very good candidate pool for the offensive coordinator position here at Laurier, so we went through an interview process and coming out of it, although there were some other great candidates, Todd Galloway stood out for a variety of reasons,” said football head coach Michael Faulds.
“From a coaching and technical standpoint, his track record speaks for itself. They had success at McMaster this year and he was a part of their offensive staff [and] for all the years he was with the Guelph Gryphons they also had a lot of success.”
Galloway, a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier, played for the Golden Hawks from 2000-2003 and was on the coaching staff during the team’s 2005 Vanier Cup win.
“Him being a Laurier alum weighed heavily, obviously the connections he has here and the comfort he has here on campus as well as the recruiting,” Faulds said.
“That’s what the university coaches do, when one season ends you’re thinking of the next crop to bring in and Coach Galloway- wherever he’s been- he’s always been a really good recruiter.”
His coaching expertise comes from working with many other USPORTS schools including St. Mary’s University, the University of Guelph and most recently McMaster University, the reigning Yates Cup champions.
The Golden Hawks went 4-4 last season, including an overtime thriller to win the Battle of Waterloo after losing the year before, but are looking to improve during the 2020 season.
“We’re adding another person in and around the program 365 days a year. What that does is it allows everyone to coach a little bit more and for our players to get more coaching,” Faulds said.
“Coach Galloway will take care of the offence during the season and on gamedays and what that does is now frees up my availability as a head coach to see things from a different level and manage things as well as handle things like sponsorship and alumni relations.”
Galloway’s work with McMaster quarterbacks last year led to their starting quarterback ranking top three in the country in completions, yards and touchdowns.
The 2019 season marked the second time the Golden Hawks had missed the playoffs in as many years, after having not missed the playoffs since 2013.
The two-year drought is something the coaching staff is looking to snap with Galloway’s hiring.
“Finding the recruits and having them come into Laurier, we have roughly 20 signed commits, which means we’ll finish in the mid-20’s, and then from our returning veterans they’re all working extremely hard,” Faulds said.
“Everyone is trying to get themselves in the best physical shape they can while balancing school, then at the end of March beginning of April we’ll have our outdoor spring camp practices so everyone’s gearing up for that as well.”
The Hawks also look to continue to reload as many players graduate and go onto CFL camps.
The coaching staff’s focus for the remainder of the spring is to continue recruiting and get their players in sync for their next training camp.
The Golden Hawks kick off the 2020 season against the University of Toronto on Aug. 30 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto at 7 p.m.
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