Riley's offense helping Clemson's defense prepare for the season

Garrett Riley's offense has put the defense under some stress already.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed May 10 12:56:06 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Garrett Riley’s offense is simple, yet complex. And that offense not only helped Clemson’s defense during the spring but will go a long way towards helping it get ready for the 2023 season.

Riley joined Clemson from TCU, where he served as Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach in helping lead the Horned Frogs to a 13-2 record, a Fiesta Bowl title and a berth in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in 2022. In December, he was honored with the Broyles Award, presented annually to the nation’s top assistant coach.

Riley arrived at TCU following a 2021 campaign in which the Horned Frogs finished 5-7 and produced the nation’s 65th-ranked scoring offense. In his lone season in Fort Worth, he transformed the unit into the nation’s ninth-ranked scoring offense at 38.8 points per game. His offense was one of the nation’s most explosive in 2022, as TCU led the Football Bowl Subdivision with 22 plays from scrimmage of 50 yards or more.

Riley’s tutelage led quarterback Max Duggan to a multitude of honors for his play in 2022, including the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback, a runner-up finish in Heisman Trophy voting, All-America honors from several selectors and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.

Clemson fans saw a scaled-down version of the offense during the spring game, but safety RJ Mickens wants to assure everyone that Riley’s offense will be special.

“I love the stuff Coach Riley is doing,” Mickens said. “It’s great stuff. There’s some exotic concepts that we haven’t seen. We might see one play that we saw Week 8, but it’s not something we’ve seen. It’s not the same common plays. He adds his own spice and flavor to his route concepts and a lot of crossing. He has a lot of different concepts, motions, all type of stuff. He’s doing great things over there. We’ve got the personnel over there to be really special.”

Mickens said that the offense is moving at a faster tempo than he’s seen in the past.

“It’s a really fast offense,” he said. “They’re snapping the ball, getting up on the line of scrimmage really quick after each play. Routes are moving. Lots of option routes. They have two-way gos, they’ve got over routes, all types of corner, they’ve got different — it’s a wide variety of things, so you don’t really know what you’re getting.”

While many of the offensive players have praised the simplicity of Riley’s offense, the defense sees it in a different light.

“They hide things really well and motion to stuff, so it’s a really complex offense. It’s really complex. I’m still trying to pick up on some tendencies,” Mickens said. “I really can’t see any. It’s hard to pick up on this offense, so it’s going to be really good for us in the fall.”

Mickens is part of an experienced group of safeties who look to be the leaders of the Clemson defense in the fall.

“It’s definitely ultra-competitive,” he said. “We have a lot of guys that put in work in the offseason, in the weight room, on the field. People coaching from the sidelines, so I think we’re going to be a really experienced, veteran group. A lot of guys are competing and definitely pushing everyone upwards, for sure.”