'Violent and Fast' Garrett Riley says Clemson's offense will be well-rounded
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Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers held their official introductory press conference for new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley earlier today. Swinney noted that the Tigers moved fast after the national championship to land the reigning Broyles Award winner.
Here are a few notes from the event, along with quotes from Swinney and Riley.
Dabo Swinney
Swinney says the first time he spoke with Riley was the Tuesday after the national championship.
On Brandon Streeter: "He's a first-class person." Said he and his wife "are Clemson people" - "He earned the opportunity."
On making the change: "As I evaluate where we are I felt like this was the right time and the right opportunity to hire Garrett."
On Garrett Riley: "This was something that kind of happened in short order. We are really excited. Very impressed with what he did at TCU."
Garrett Riley
Riley said he didn't know much about Clemson and Swinney's program.
On how much he knew about Clemson: "Did not have a ton of background or a whole lot of knowledge of Clemson. Tried to investigate as much as I could. That was important as all this unfolded. It's been awesome since we started."
On the evolution of the running game: "As a young coach, I was exposed to that-- you better run the football if you want to win championships. It was a huge reason we had success (at TCU)."
Garrett Riley says he hasn't had a ton of time to reflect on the run that TCU's had. Noted that he's done it a little on plane rides during recruiting.
On his offensive mindset: “We’re going to be violent and fast-- it starts there. Whether we are in the run game or passing game-- we are going to attack. I think ultimately it’s about distribution-- whether that’s running the football-- throwing it to the tight end-- this receiver, that receiver-- throwing it to the tailback-- whatever it may be. I think if you want to become a well-rounded offense, it makes it tough on defenses. I think that’s thing No. 1 for me.”