FOX Sports projects Garrett Riley as the next top assistant to make the Playoff

Garrett Riley is seen as the next top assistant to make the College Football Playoff, according to FOX Sports.

by TigerNet Staff - Fri Jun 30 15:18:02 GMT-04:00 2023

FOX Sports examined the top college assistants set to make the College Football Playoff next, and that projection comes out well for Clemson's Tigers.

Riley was brought in this January to replace longtime assistant Brandon Streeter as Clemson's offensive coordinator. Riley is the reigning Broyles Award winner as the nation's top assistant after a big season in a Playoff run at TCU last year.

"So who's got the best shot to make the CFP among their group of hotshot coordinators? Given that Clemson has fielded a top-15 scoring defense in four of the last seven years and still managed to rank No. 22 in the country in its first year post-Brent Venables, I'm inclined to believe Garrett Riley will find a way to get Clemson an extra seven points per game — pushing the Tigers to a 40-point average — in 2023," said FOX Sports' RJ Young. "I'm inclined to believe that that machine in Clemson, South Carolina, has more untapped potential left under the hood and Riley is gonna find it. I'm inclined to believe that Garrett Riley returns to the CFP before big brother Lincoln, especially with the Trojans headed to a loaded Big Ten in a year's time...After all, what would family dinner be like in Muleshoe, Texas, if Garrett slams a fist on the dinner table heavy from the weight of his championship ring while his big brother continues to search for his own? If that happened, I only wish I could cover a plate and listen."

Young lists Riley's replacement at TCU, Kendal Briles, as well as Oklahoma defensive coordinator Ted Roof and Southern Cal defensive coordinator Alex Grinch in that group with Riley.

He went into more detail on Riley's placement on the list:

The short-but-punchy fact is that Garrett Riley did more at TCU with considerably less than Clemson did during the same period.

The Tigers haven't seen a 3,000-yard passer since Trevor Lawrence left in 2020.

And they haven't seen a 3,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rusher in the same year since 2019. Lawrence threw for 3,665 with 36 TDs and eight INTs, while Travis Etienne had 2,046 yards from scrimmage, including 1,614 on the ground, with 23 total TDs that year.

At TCU last year, Max Duggan passed for 3,698 with 32 TDs to eight INTs, while Kendre Miller accounted for 1,515 from scrimmage, including 1,399 on the ground with 17 total TDs.

TCU, a small private school in North Texas, averaged 38.8 a game — ninth best in the country — gave up 29 a game — 91st out of 131 in the country — and finished as national title runner-up. Clemson averaged almost a TD less per game (33.2).

The man who coordinated that TCU offense to those numbers, Riley, is at Clemson now. With Cade Klubnik and Will Shipley in the backfield, he's got talent enough to produce a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and push the Tigers toward 40 a game or the same average that got Michigan (40.4) into the CFP, too.