Clemson made arguably the biggest splash hire among assistant coaches in the 2023 offseason when Head Coach Dabo Swinney announced in January the hiring of Garrett Riley as Clemson’s Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach. Riley won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach following his lone season at TCU in 2022 in which he helped turn the Horned Frogs from a 5-7 squad into a group that went 13-2 and earned a berth in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
In three years as an offensive coordinator prior to his arrival at Clemson at SMU (2020-21) and TCU (2022), all three Riley offenses finished in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense. His units as the coordinator at SMU and TCU from 2020-22 combined would rank third in the nation in points per game in that span at 38.6 points per game, trailing only Ohio State (44.0) and Alabama (43.0) in that stretch.
Riley’s 2022 TCU squad led the FBS with 22 plays from scrimmage of 50 yards or more. He envisions that same explosiveness being central to Clemson’s new offensive identity.
That new identity has already made an impact on the Tiger defense–who was tested more this spring than in the past.
“Yeah for sure. In the past we’ve had the same offense, so formation recognition you can start to pick up on things,” linebacker Wade Woodaz said. “Now it’s a completely different scheme. They’ve caught us on our heels a couple of times, but I feel like it’s a good test for us.
“They’re electric. They can hit you from anywhere. Jake Briningstool in the passing game, we see what he can do. I have to cover him a lot, so he’s a good test for me. They’re so pass-heavy so it’s really testing our coverage, which is one area we need to improve.”
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