Why Garrett Riley is primed for success in first year at Clemson

On3’s J.D. PicKell is still hard at work this offseason breaking down the biggest stories of college football. There is still some time between now and the start of the season for him to get into some of college football’s biggest unknowns in 2023.

And thanks to a fan question on a recent episode of The Hard Count, the college football expert revealed his thoughts on Clemson’s recent hire of Garrett Riley in comparison to Miami‘s acquisition of Josh Gattis last season.

“I think that the situation Josh Gattis walked into was much less established at Miami than what Garrett Riley’s walking into at Clemson,” said PicKell. “Like Miami was still trying to build back… I want to rephrase that. Mario Cristobal was in year 1. He walked into year one with Mario Cristobal, trying to figure out what the vision was going to be. Miami was in a competitive place. Clemson, also in a competitive place. They have Cade Klubnik. I think they have more within that roster to work with than maybe Josh Gattis had at Miami.”

After a successful run as the Michigan Wolverines’ offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021, Gattis was recruited by Miami head coach Mario Cristobal to run the Hurricanes’ offense.

Unfortunately, their time together could be coined anything but successful. Gattis was fired less than a season later after Miami’s offense struggled mightily throughout the season, finishing the year 5-7.

What will become of Riley has yet to be determined, as he is yet to even call his first play as Clemson’s offensive coordinator. But arguably, the most significant difference between the two situations is the former TCU offensive coordinator is entering into a program with an already established culture and defense of dominance. The same cannot be said of Miami.

PicKell kept short and sweet with his assessment of the two offensive coordinators. But, regarding what both Gattis and Riley have to offer, the college football expert is a fan of what Riley brings to the table. And PicKell even went as far as to make a bold proclamation about the trajectory of his future.

“I just like what Garrett Riley is bringing to the table. I like the offense he’s going to run. I think he has a good gauge for working with his quarterback in Cade Klubnik. We saw what he did with Max Duggan. So, I don’t see that happening. I think Garrett Riley is going to continue to trend upward. And I’ll call our shot right now; I think he’ll be a head coach here much sooner than later.”