Dabo Swinney elaborates on the chemistry between Cade Klubnik, Garrett Riley

An important part of this offseason for Clemson was ensuring sure that new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and first-year starting quarterback Cade Klubnik are on the same page.

Riley was brought in following the 2022 season to get Clemson back to having an explosive and balanced offensive attack.

After Riley arrived at Clemson in January, he and Klubnik immediately started working to improve their chemistry. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney said last week at the 2023 ACC Football Kickoff event that he feels good about where Klubnik and Riley are at in that journey.

“They’re ready to go,” Swinney said. “They’re both very positive and enthusiastic people just naturally, so they’re both really ready. We’ve got a lot of work done since January. Everybody’s just ready to get out on the field and start to reap the benefits of that work.”

A big plus for Riley, Klubnik and the Tigers is that there was already familiarity between the new offensive quarterback and Clemson’s sophomore quarterback, even before Riley arrived in the Upstate.

Riley came to Clemson from TCU, and he recruited Klubnik while he was in high school, before Klubnik ultimately committed to the Tigers. Now Riley will get to coach Klubnik after all.

“The one other positive about Garrett is he recruited Cade, and he knew him already prior to him getting here to Clemson. So they’re ready to go,” Swinney said. “It’s been a great summer from a preparation standpoint. Cade’s done an amazing job leading our guys through skills and drills. Installation wise we’re in a good spot. Now we’ve just gotta go do it.”

Dabo Swinney shares expectations for Clemson offense in Year 1 under Garrett Riley

Clemson didn’t have a bad year offensively in 2022, but the Tigers also didn’t have the explosive attack that fans became accustomed to seeing during a run of six straight College Football Playoff appearances.

New offensive coordinator Garrett Riley was brought in this offseason to get the Tigers back to having one of the best offenses in the country.

Dabo Swinney brought in the 2022 Broyles Award winner after he helped TCU reach the national title game in January. Swinney spoke at the 2023 ACC Football Kickoff event about what he expects from the Clemson offense in Year 1 under Riley.

“I think the best offenses we’ve had have had some semblance of balance. Not that you’re going to be some 50-50 type deal week-to-week. It just kind of depends on where you are. I think that’s where your explosiveness comes from,” Swinney said. “So I think when it’s all said and done, we’ve gotta be able to run the football. That’s where it starts. We want to be able to do that. But then you also have to be able to throw the ball at a high level.”

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