CLEMSON – It’s been 229 days since Clemson announced the hire of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. With the new schemes for the Tigers, this offseason has been dedicated to implementing it and making sure the group is ready for the 2023 season.

Thankfully for Clemson, Riley’s made the transition smoothly, both coaches and players raving about his offense and the competition during camp was the talk of Tiger Town. It’s no surprise considering his dominant efforts leading TCU last season, but it still has to come together for Labor Day night.

One thing that makes it easier is there’s similarities between Riley’s offense and quarterback Cade Klubnik’s high school days. With the leader making a quick transition, everything else quickly falls into place. Five days away from the trip to Durham, Riley gave his report card on where the offense stands.

“We’ve progressed a lot since my first few weeks here, you know, so I think we’re in a great spot going into it,” Riley said. “I think we’ve got a lot of different guys that are capable of making a lot of plays for us. Continuity and chemistry up front, so I think we’re in a great spot going into Game 1.”

Taking on Wes Goodwin’s talented defense, it’s accelerated the challenge for Riley’s offense and made sure they’re prepared for the competition of the regular season. With the vertical potential of this offense, one may assume to see growing pains early.

There’s reason to believe that’s not the case when you have running backs Will Shipley and Phil Mafah to calm things down, paired with the offensive line’s continuity that Riley mentioned.

“I’m excited to see our players play,” Riley said. “Seeing them grind every single day against that defense that we’re going up against has been a treat. That’s a lot of fun for me as a coach to sit there and watch those two units battle it out every single day but really excited to see our guys just play under the lights and play in a real game.”

All that’s left is to put the work in front of the national eyes to see. As he finished his answer, Riley said it’s time to go see it on “the real field” and that’s against Duke on Monday night, when the new offense can stake its claim.

Dear Old Clemson has just added Limited Edition signed Cade Klubnik replica road signs to the online store. Get your highway 2 sign today while supplies last!