Clemson football: Kyle Richardson brings new innovation to Tigers offense

Kyle Richardson paid his dues on the Clemson football staff for six seasons before he got his chance to be an on-field coach for the Tigers.

Richardson graduated from South Point High School in Belmont, North Carolina. He received an undergraduate degree from Appalachian State before earning a master’s degree from Clemson in athletic leadership. He got his start in coaching at high schools in North Carolina and Georgia.

Richardson cut his teeth as a head coach at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He was hired as the offensive coordinator in 2007, and then promoted to head coach in 2011. During his nine total seasons at Northwestern (four as OC, five as HC), the Trojans were 107-24 for a winning percentage of .817. They won eight Region III titles and three state championships (20??, 2013 & 2015).

While at Northwestern, Richardson coached multiple players who went on to play major college football, including Logan Rudolph, who played for Clemson from 2017-19. Other names include Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State), Cordarrelle Patterson (Tennessee) and Justin Worley (Tennessee).

During Richardson’s tenure, Northwestern became known for running an “Air-raid” style offense with talented quarterbacks like Worley and Rudolph, but Richardson also showed a talent for adjusting his philosophy to match his personnel. Following Rudolph’s graduation, his successor was struggling, and the Trojans started the season 0-3. Richardson converted a 5’6 receiver to quarterback and changed his offense to do what he did best: run/pass options and rollouts. Northwestern proceeded to win nine straight games and win their region.

Coach Swinney identified Richardson as a man he wanted on staff at Clemson:

"“Six years ago, I wanted a high school perspective in our staff room. So, I went and hired two of the best in the country. I hired Kyle Richardson from Northwestern, who has won multiple state championships. … Then I went and hired this guy named Mickey Conn, who started the Grayson program. I brought them in and knew what they would bring to our staff and also knew that at some point we would get them on the field.”"

Kyle Richardson looks bring innovative changes to the Clemson football playbook

Since his hire as an analyst in 2016, Richardson has been working hard to contribute to the program’s success. He arrived at Clemson one season after Brandon Streeter came from Richmond to assume the quarterback coaching role, so the two have worked together for several years. While many know Richardson will be serving as the passing game coordinator, he will also be directly coaching the tight ends.

Richardson strongly considered returning to high school football before Tony Elliott accepted a long-deserved head coaching opportunity, but now he has a chance to bring the innovative qualities he displayed at Northwestern to a Clemson offense that needed a new direction. Streeter and Richardson describe the changes as a simplification of the playbook and not a complete overhaul. This simplified scheme will create less to have to think about pre-snap, and open the offense to do more adjusting post-snap and take advantage of what the defense gives them.

Knowing Richardson’s knack for matching the offense to the personnel, I think their new direction will be exactly what Clemson needs in 2022.