Garrett Riley opens up about why his offense looks different in 2023

Garrett Riley is hopeful the offense can become more consistent in the second half of the season.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Oct 09 14:37:30 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Garrett Riley says it’s time for the Clemson offense to unhook from the plow, but also says the offense looks different than what he had at TCU because the personnel is different.

Clemson’s offense isn’t on quite the same pace set by TCU last season under Riley – the Horned Frogs averaged 455 yards per game, 38.8 points per game, and 6.69 yards per play. This season, Clemson is averaging 437 yards per game, 32.2 points per game, and 5.74 yards per play.

I asked Riley about the differences between the two offenses, and he mentioned the Tigers need to be more consistent, figure out the turnover bug, and start faster. He also said having different players makes a difference.

“Every offense is different. We've got different players. A younger quarterback. All of those things,” Riley said Monday. “But, we're attacking in a lot of the same ways, so there's not a lot of difference in there. I would say it’s who we have and who we are right now and just trying to work through it. The last few games, I think getting off to a faster start would allow us to probably unhook the plow a little bit sooner. We took some negative plays in the Syracuse game, but we did a much better job in the Wake Forest game of not taking as many negative plays.”

Riley then said that while it’s his offense, he also had to make sure the offense fits the players he has at Clemson. If that means making a tweak to the system, then you make a tweak to the system.

“My response to that would be it's the same, but you've got to adapt to the personnel you've got,” Riley responded.

The good news is that Clemson should get wide receiver Antonio Williams back from injury in time for the Miami game, and Riley is already working on ways to get Williams, Tyler Brown, a rejuvenated Troy Stellato, and Beaux Collins all on the field and working with the offense.

“That will be the fun part over the bye week figuring out that part of the equation of who gives us the best chance to move the football and score,” he said. “I think we'll be able to shuffle some guys to find the best lineup and best package of what's going to give us the best opportunity to move the football and score.”