Riley Believes Tigers Now Have More of Pulse on Offensive Identity

Heading into his second season leading the Clemson offense, Garrett Riley has a much better feel for his personnel and how they fit into his scheme.

The Tigers struggled with consistency in Riley’s first season, with injuries on that side of the ball playing a part in the passing game failing to gel and build cohesiveness between quarterback and receivers.

As No. 14 Clemson gets set to open the season against top-ranked Georgia in Atlanta on Saturday, Riley feels like the Tigers have a lot more chemistry on offense as opposed to where they were at the same time a season ago.

“Quite a bit. I mean you got a lot of guys that are back and some of the new pieces that we’ve added since last season and healthy,” Riley said. “So you just kind of got the arsenal of guys out there and really trying to build chemistry. So that’s the biggest thing that we’ve been able to see and kind of feel as an offense and offensive staff.”

With quarterback Cade Klubnik now having a year in the system and a wide receiver room that boasts more experience than it did a season ago, Riley feels like the players have a much better understanding of the offense, which in turn has led to the players having more confidence in the system.

“I feel at this point in the year, starting a season, compared to where we were a year ago, obviously, I feel like we got a little bit more of a pulse on our identity and kind of who we are and who our playmakers are,” Riley added. “What’s going to be our best personnel going up against Georgia or whoever. So I just feel like we got a little bit better feel that way. That would be the biggest thing.”

Riley also feels good about the Tigers being much improved when it comes to pushing the ball down the field. While Clemson’s offense was limited by a lack of explosiveness in 2023, the Tigers’ second-year offensive coordinator is hopeful those issues are a thing of the past.

“That’s what this game is about,” Riley said. “If you can be explosive, generally you’ll be a very good scoring offense.”

“I feel good about our team and feel like we’re going to be able to attack people.”

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