Garrett Riley assesses Clemson's offense through three weeks

The talk of Clemson’s offseason surrounded the offensive changes, specifically with the hire of Garrett Riley as OC and the shift to Cade Klubnik at QB. Still, with low lows followed by high highs so far from that unit, how do the Tigers feel about that unit with a quarter of their season complete?

In Riley’s opinion, he likes the play and the characteristics that he has seen from his offense to this point. As he said in his press conference on Monday, he sees a resilient group of players that have been unfazed by the good or the bad through Clemson’s start on that side of the football.

“Big picture? I feel like you’ve got the feel of our team in terms of going through some adversity, getting behind the eight ball on some things. So I think what we found out is we have a team and guys that don’t flinch,” Riley said.

“That’s kind of what I told our guys the other day before our game. That’s a hell of a characteristic to know as a coach this early in the season,” said Riley. “I think that’s something we can always lean on as we move forward.”

From there, Riley added that he is happy to the overall participation and progress of everyone on the Tiger offense. They’re coming together in a way that has already given him a good idea of what they’re working with.

“I’ve seen a lot of different guys get involved here in the last couple of games which has been positive. (I’ve) seen a quarterback that’s maturing, growing, and improving like I expected,” Riley noted. “We feel like we’re starting to really gel up front with just some chemistry and things of that nature.”

“I feel like we kind of know our team right now as a whole,” said Riley.

Clemson’s offense was a disaster in their opener at Duke. They mustered just seven points against the Blue Devils to go with three turnovers. There’s been growth over the past two games against Charleston Southern and FAU, though, with an average of 57 points and 523 total yards per game.

At 40.3 points per game, the Tiger’s offense ranks 20th in the nation after Riley’s first three game. That’s a pace that’s a touchdown better than last season, albeit in about a quarter of the sample size. They’re also currently averaging almost 80 more yards a game compared to last fall.

Riley’s offense has weathered the storm after their start in Durham to have a fairly decent start to the season. However, the report card is going to come back out after this weekend depending on how Clemson fares offensively in their clash in the ACC clash against Florida State.