Ahmaad Galloway (March 10, 1980 – January 9, 2023) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

College career

Galloway played four years at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

. He wore number 29 to honor his former high school teammate, Mario Reed, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a game. In his freshman year of 1999, he played sparingly behind former Crimson Tide running back and future NFL star

Shaun Alexander Shaun Edward Alexander (born August 30, 1977) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins. He played college football for the Alaba ...

. That year, he won an SEC Championship under head coach

Mike Dubose Michael Lynn DuBose (born January 5, 1953) is an American football coach, most recently serving for Opp High School in Opp, Alabama. His most recent college coaching experience was serving as defensive line coach for the University of Memphis. ...

. Galloway rushed for 33 yards on seven carries. Fall 2000 served as his coming out year. His sophomore campaign started on a high note as he scored a pair of touchdowns against UCLA. While not the feature back that season, he still played a significant role in each of the Crimson Tide's games. He shared time with former Alabama running back Santonio Beard; He rushed for 659 yards on 137 carries. Galloway had seven touchdowns to his credit that season. Galloway's junior year of 2001, gave Crimson Tide fans glimpses of greatness. He rushed for over 230 yards in his second game against the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

. However, his most notable game was against the Tide's biggest rival

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

. He rushed for over 130 yards to lead the Tide to a victory over the Tigers. Galloway carried the ball 174 times for 881 yards and six touchdowns that season. Galloway had great expectations coming into his senior year of 2002. However, in an early game against Southern Mississippi, he suffered a season-ending knee injury. This caused him to sit out the remainder of his senior season in which the Crimson Tide finished 10-3 under former head coach

Dennis Franchione Dennis Wayne Franchione (born March 28, 1951) is an American former college football coach. He is the former head football coach at Texas State University–San Marcos, Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school ...

. He rushed for 257 yards, four touchdowns on 58 carries. For his collegiate career, Ahmaad Galloway carried the ball 376 times for 1,830 yards and seventeen touchdowns.

Professional career

In the spring of 2003, Galloway was drafted in the seventh round by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. However, Galloway was forced to sit out during the 2003 season due to the injury he suffered his senior year at the

. Very aware of Galloway's enormous potential, Denver labeled him as their "future". Upon reaching full recovery, Ahmaad was sent to the

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores, were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, ...

, Denver's

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

affiliate. As the Claymore's feature back, Galloway achieved great recognition for his accomplishments during the NFL Europe season. The above-mentioned title was soon short lived, as he was traded to the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

after the 2003 season. Before arriving in San Diego, Galloway spent time with the Frankfurt Galaxy of

. At the completion of the 2004 season, Ahmaad Galloway was released from the San Diego Chargers.

Coaching career

In 2010, he accepted a position as Assistant Coach at Oak Mountain High School (Div 6A). He was hired by head Coach Jeff Harris. In 2011, he was hired as Assistant Coach at Thompson High School by Coach Caleb Ross (Div 6A).

Death

Galloway died unexpectedly on January 9, 2023, at the age of 42.

College career

Professional career

Coaching career

Death

References

See also