In 2022 the Clemson Tigers’ offense struggled quite a bit. There have been many things pointed to as to why the Tigers underperformed on offense. They had inconsistent play at quarterback, ranking 66th in passing offense. Maybe it was a lack of talent in certain positions like wide receiver. One thing was clear to Dabo Swiney at the end of last season though, something had to change.
Enter Garrett Riley
For Swiney, the change started at the very top of the offensive side of the ball. He let go of former offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter and hired Garrett Riley to run the offense. This was a big-time hire for the Tigers. Riley is recognized as one of the best coordinators in all of college football by many around the sport. In 2022 he won the Broyles Award for top assistant in the nation while at TCU. 247 Sports even ranked him as the most impactful hire for the 2023 season. None of this is surprising though when looking at what he was able to do last season for TCU.
The program not only made it to the College Football Playoffs but actually made it to the National Championship game. In this National Championship run, TCU had a top-30 overall offense in the nation. Riley’s offense also finished 2022 10th in the nation in points scored averaging 38.9 points per game. His quarterback, Max Duggan, even went on to win both the Davey O’Brien and Johnny Unitas awards, meant to recognize the best quarterback(s) in the nation. Riley clearly knows how to get the most out of the talent he puts on the field. Now he arguably has even more talented players to work with and teach on this Clemson team.
Who’s on Offense
This of course is by no means a shot at a very talented 2022 TCU squad. One thing the Tigers are still lacking is a true top receiver like Quentin Johnson, who Riley had last season. Swiney is known as one of, if not the best, recruiters in all of college football for a reason though. For starters, Clemson still has probably the most versatile player in the nation in Will Shipley. A running back who even after not playing in the 2023 spring game, is still receiving many off-season accolades. Don’t sleep on his back up either. Phil Mafah is also a very talented running back who stepped up in the starter role for the spring game and fit right in. We’d expect them both to get many touches in order to take some pressure off Cade Klubnik.
Klubnik will have his first full season as the starting quarterback for the Tigers. Klubnik, a true sophomore this season, was rated a five-star quarterback coming out of high school. Multiple publications and recruiting sites ranked him the top quarterback of his class. There is no question Klubnik has the raw talent to be a great player. He’s still got some work to do though and will definitely need some help. He should have some good protection upfront with two preseason All-conference linemen in tackle Blake Miller and center Will Putnam. There are some things Riley can do with this collection of talent too though, that can really help this Clemson offense.
What We Could See
One thing we could see much of from Clemson’s 2023 offense is a good amount of Run-Pass Option (RPO) plays. Riley likes to run an offense that aids his quarterback as much as possible. This is one of those ways. With the RPO, Klubnik will have fewer reads to worry about which should help him make quicker and better decisions.
Watching the Clemson Spring game, you can see and listen to the different ways the RPO can be used. One run-pass option variation Riley likes to run is explained well by Swiney as he commentated during the Spring game. It is designed as a run play (a counter to be specific) to one side with the option to hand it off or throw a screen pass to the receiver on the opposite side. This is not the only way to run this but it is a version Riley has run quite a bit. This kind of offense though makes things a little easier for many quarterbacks, especially young ones, when it comes to making reads. Instead of dropping back with three to five receiver options to choose from, he has one to three options to choose from. Hand it off, keep it for himself to run, or throw the pass.
The run most likely will be the option used the most. With a talented offensive line and two very good running backs it makes sense to run the ball often to set up the pass. If the Tigers can run the ball well they can get teams to move defensive backs closer to the line. This will make the pass becomes a much better option for them. It also just makes sense that Riley would want to give Shipley the ball as much as possible. Whether that be handing it to him, or passing it to him in the screen game. Whatever the final plans may be change is definitely coming for Clemson, and it looks to be for the better.
Photo courtesy: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
