Riley says it's time to set Clemson's offense free

Garrett Riley’s main goal is scoring more than the other team, but his offense aims to have some fun getting there.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Jul 30 07:00:15 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Clemson’s offense will finally be free.

Clemson fans have chafed for a few years about the predictable nature of the offense, even when it was putting up points with future pros like Trevor Lawrence, Tee Higgins, and Travis Etienne. But new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley promises that his offense will let the players play free.

"We've got to be physical. We are not going to lose that. We've got to be a physical team,” Riley said last week. “I think the consistency in what we do. It doesn't have to be really complicated. We expect to have great players here at Clemson and I think what's exciting is to be simple, be in attack mode, and let our guys play and be free. That's our whole approach with them."

Riley said that freedom gives his players ownership in the offense.

"Giving our kids freedom and ownership. That's key,” he said. “I'm watching the quarterback show on Netflix right now with Mahomes and coach (Andy) Reid is giving the players a period in practice just to come up with whatever plays they want to do as players. I think that's a little bit like what we've got going on here just with giving players ownership so they can buy in even more. I think that's critical, especially in Year 1 in a transition."

Camp starts next Friday, and Riley has one early goal.

"I think the biggest thing is seeing pretty quickly, with everybody we have back practicing, who are best guys are. What can they handle and what can they get really good at,” he said.

What is another goal for his offense?

"Score more than they do. Whatever it takes,” Riley said. “I don't want to be labeled as 'we're just going to go ultra-fast and that's it.' We want to dictate tempo and be explosive, but we also want to be methodical and shove it down some people's throats at times. I hope we can be versatile that way and have the mentality where we can do that and take over games with whatever is required, that's the bottom line."

Riley said that quarterback Cade Klubnik flashed in the spring but still has room to grow, and that growth will come with experience.

"He's not scared of the moment. The kid is a competitor, no question,” Riley said. “I think that's in his DNA. Got to see some great things that he did (in the spring) but also some learning that's going to happen that comes with experience, and that's just the nature of the beast at that position."

Riley was asked how he lets Klubnik have that freedom and keep his gunslinger mentality while also trying to keep the sophomore grounded.

“I think my belief is you have to present it in a way that won't take away the player that he is,” he said. “I just think you have to be good in meetings and coaching opportunities on the field in where they can hone it in when they need to and they understand that, but you don't take away from who they are."