Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley poised for bigger impact in 2nd season

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Garrett Riley’s offense in his first season at Clemson eventually kicked in, but far too late to make the Tigers championship contenders last season.

Riley is focused on a quicker, crisper start to get Clemson back in the title mix in year two.

“I would expect us to get off to a faster start,” Riley said Tuesday. “And I know our players certainly expect that, too.”

The Tigers were defending Atlantic Coast Conference champions a summer ago, and were poised for more success with Riley’s arrival from TCU. Then came the mistakes and meltdowns, starting with a 28-7 opening game loss at Duke and continuing with overtime losses to Florida State and Miami for a 4-4 record that had them out of the picture before November.

“We had some problems,” tight ends coach Kyle Richardson said.

But the Tigers turned things around with five straight victories, including a drama-filled 38-35 Gator Bowl win over Kentucky, to end the 9-4 campaign.

“We sparked it,” Richardson said. “And then you start building off it, building off it, building off it.”

The result, Riley said, was a roster whose heads were up and focused on bigger things.

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Riley said that push has continued throughout the offseason. Clemson hits the field for fall camp on Aug. 1 and opens the season Aug. 31 in Atlanta against Georgia, whose only loss in a 13-1 season was to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game.

“Year two, making a big jump,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “That’s really what you want to see.”

Riley’s confidence comes from watching the growth of several playmakers like quarterback Cade Klubnik and tailback Phil Mafah, plus the emergence of last year’s top freshman receiver Tyler Brown.

Klubnik was as mistake-prone as anyone during the 4-4 start, bobbling handoffs between him and Will Shipley near the end zone in the Duke loss, fumbling the ball after a sack that led to Florida State tying the game in the second half and getting stopped on fourth-down to end double OT at Miami after leading by 10 points.

Clemson, even with five straight wins to finish, was fifth in ACC overall offense and sixth in ACC touchdowns. The team’s average of 5.25 yards per play last season ranked 12th out of 14 teams in the league.

Riley said Klubnik owned his errors and put in the work to improve.

“At times, he tried to do a little too much” a year ago, Riley said. These days, Klubnik has shown true understanding of Riley’s up-tempo attack.

“I think he really does instead of saying, ‘Yes, sir,’” like at times last year, Riley said.

Klubnik expects to have a healthy group of skilled receivers to pass to this fall. Bumps and bruises to expected starters Antonio Williams and Beaux Collins opened the way for Brown to lead the team with 52 catches and 531 yards. Tight end Jake Briningstool was right behind with 50 receptions.

Add in highly regarded freshmen pass catchers in Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore and Riley believes Clemson can stretch the field this season.

Mafah split time with Philadelphia Eagles fourth-round draft pick Shipley last season. He led the Tigers with 965 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Mafah, at 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, is ready to carry the load this fall, Clemson running back coach C.J. Spiller said. Spiller said he’s spoken with Mafah about the need for rest on the sidelines and not getting worn down by several games like last year’s 31-23 win over then-12th ranked Notre Dame where he had 36 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

Riley will also have some experience to tap into with former Ole Miss coach Matt Luke taking over Clemson’s offensive line.

Riley hopes to put last year’s struggles behind him the best way he knows how — with success this fall.

“Yeah, hopefully, some of that experience from last year will pay off for all of us,” Riley said.

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