Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley has been the target of some vitriol from the fan base for the offense’s performance to open the season. Some of it is rightly deserved, but Riley should not be looked down on as an offensive play caller.
He is a very good offensive coordinator. There is just one glaring problem with his play calling, which is how quickly he abandons the run game at times.
Garrett Riley’s first season
It was known when Riley was hired that he runs an “air raid” type of system. This means he likes to be able to throw the ball a lot. There were talks that his system at Clemson would be considered more of a “dirt raid” because of the personnel the Tigers had at his arrival.
Riley’s first season at Clemson was 2023, when both Will Shipley and Phil Mafah were on the roster. Two running backs currently in the NFL. It sounded as if the run game would be the feature of this offense in order to build to the down field pass game. Even with this two headed monster of a backfield the Tigers had though, there were too many times Riley put the offense in a young Cade Klubnik’s hands.
That was until the end of the season when Mafah was given more opportunities. His dominance in the run game fueled the five game win streak the Tigers went on to finish 2023. It also helped take much of the pressure off of Klubnik. He began looking much more confident each week slinging the ball around and making better decisions.
Clemson’s Offense in 2025
Fast Forward to 2025 where now both Shipley and Mafah are off of the roster. The starting running back is a converted wide receiver, Adam Randall.
He worked all offseason to transform himself into a running back. The senior put on an extra ten pounds of muscle and now stands 6’2 and 235 pounds.
Randall has also shown he can be an effective ball carrier when given the chance. In week one against LSU, he touched the ball five times for 16 yards. In the first half of the Troy game in week two, he had the same amount of touches for the same amount of yards.
In that entire stretch, Clemson’s offense looked like it did in 2023. Very stagnant and finding themselves in too many bad situations. They relyied too much on the passing game instead of finding easy yards on the ground.
Then in the second half of the Troy game, Randall ran the ball 16 times for 95 yards. It made the offense look so much better.
Klubnik’s performance also improved. He threw only one incomplete pass the entire second half while completing his first two touchdown passes of 2025.
Having the threat of being able to run the ball is something every offense needs.
Why the run game is important
It does not matter how great of a quarterback a team has. At some point an offense needs to be able to hand the ball off and get at least three yards, multiple times.
Garrett Nussmeier looked his best in week one when Caden Durham was in the game. It’s because of how well Durham was able to find yards in the run game. It made the Clemson defense have to play a step slower against the pass, especially play action pass and RPO (run, pass option).
This is what a run game does for an offense.
It makes second level defenders play slower forcing them to be late on their coverage drops. It also makes defensive backs step closer to the box putting them a step behind receivers as they sprint past them.
That opens up the passing windows for the quarterback to find those receivers, and throw the ball to the right spots for them to make plays. If teams do not fear the run game though, it allows them to send pressures up front to get to the quarterback while the secondary sits back in coverage.
Giving teams multiple looks forces the defense to keep guessing and be hyper focused on certain keys. Most defenses will guess wrong more often than not. Even if not most young college kids will read the wrong key at some point and give up the big play.
How the run game will be key against Georgia Tech
The run game is going to be key against a very disciplined Georgia Tech defense. The Yellow Jackets fly around on that side of the ball and show a clear understanding of their assignments.
They also run their defensive front with three down lineman, but bring a fourth and sometimes fifth guy for extra run support, or to rush the quarterback. With the mix of pressures and looks up front Georgia Tech brings, the ability to run the ball will be important.
The Yellow Jackets will sell out against the run and stack the box if they feel the need to. If Clemson can make that happen, the Georgia Tech defensive backs will not be able to cover the Tigers’ wide receivers one-on-one. The Clemson pass catchers should be able to get behind the Yellow Jackets defense.
Get Klubnik’s confidence going too by allowing him to get involved in the run game as well. This will help him get comfortable and start delivering the ball to his receivers with ease.
This all only gets set up by the Tigers running the ball well and often.