Now that Garrett Riley is officially on board at Clemson, what exactly should the Tigers expect their offense to look like under their new coordinator?
The first thing to know about Riley other than his bloodlines as the younger brother of Southern Cal coach Lincoln Riley is that he’s a disciple of the late Mike Leach, who was best known for helping bring the air-raid offense mainstream as Texas Tech’s coach during the early 2000s. It’s understandable given the younger Riley grew up in Texas, played his high school ball there and then began his college career with the Red Raiders as a quarterback under Leach.
Riley spent this season as the offensive coordinator at TCU, which had the Big 12’s fourth-best passing offense. During his time as SMU’s play caller the previous two seasons, the Mustangs statistically had one of the top two passing offenses in the American Athletic Conference.
There are some classic air-raid staples to Riley’s attack. Four- and five-receiver sets are used to get athletes in space. Screens are mixed into those formations. Jet sweeps and similar motions also make appearances at times. And, when things are clicking, tempo can be an asset.
But to call Riley’s version pass-happy isn’t entirely accurate.
Utilizing tight ends and even two-back sets at times, physicality on the ground is also emphasized. In fact, TCU ran the ball more than 55% of the time this season and finished with the No. 3 rushing attack in the Big 12. His offenses at SMU threw the ball slightly more than they ran it, including during the 2021 season when the Mustangs had the nation’s 13th-best passing attack.
Those varying splits show Riley is willing to adapt his play calling to his personnel. But the bottom line for his offenses, regardless of how it gets done, has been production.
Riley has directed them at both the Group of Five and Power Five levels. None has averaged less than 38.4 points per game. TCU put up 51 points on Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinals and, despite scoring just seven against Georgia in the CFP final, averaged 38.8 this season. His offenses at TCU and SMU all ranked in the top 30 nationally in total yards and among the top 15 in points.
Now Riley is tasked with jumpstarting a Clemson offense that’s been a shell of its former self recently.
After finishing third in the FBS in scoring in 2020, the Tigers have finished outside the top 35 in that category each of the last two seasons. Inconsistency in the passing game has particularly plagued the Tigers with erratic quarterback play combined with a lack of development of some of their young receivers. Clemson has finished outside the top 5 in the ACC in passing yards both seasons.
But Riley is a breath of fresh air for Clemson in his role, becoming the first outside hire Dabo Swinney has made at the offensive coordinator position since 2011 when Chad Morris came in from Tulsa. Clemson is counting on the 33-year-old’s spin on a popular scheme to help get things turned around on that side of the ball.
Photo credit: USA TODAY Sports
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