SUNDAY NUGGETS
By: Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
When Dabo Swinney sat alone after the season to undertake the unsparing process of evaluating Brandon Streeter, quarterback development was probably not a check mark in his favor.
Yes, you could argue it's probably not entirely fair to reduce your sample size to the rollercoaster that was DJ Uiagalelei.
But then you recall the images of Uiagalelei going back into a balky, deer-in-headlights shell in his 27th and 28th career starts against South Carolina and North Carolina. At that point it's darned hard to overlook his position coach.
Aside from his rock-star status at TCU -- and yes, he still has that status despite his boys being completely overwhelmed by the grown men from Georgia last Monday -- there's more to why Garrett Riley was so attractive to Swinney.
And you'd have to start with quarterback development.
Garrett Riley's profile has risen considerably over the last three seasons after serving as Appalachian State's running backs coach in 2019. (AP)
At Oklahoma, Tanner Mordecai redshirted in 2018 and watched Kyler Murray weave a masterpiece under Lincoln Riley.
Then Riley brought in Jalen Hurts. And then in 2020 it was Spencer Rattler at the controls in Norman.
After joining Garrett Riley and Sonny Dykes at SMU, Mordecai immediately blossomed.
The year before, senior Shane Buechele threw for more than 300 yards a game and completed 65.4 percent of his passes while totaling 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.
In 2021, Mordecai threw for 3,628 yards and completed 67.8 percent of his passes while piling up 39 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Dykes and Riley left for TCU, and this past season Mordecai's production was still very good but a slight tick off his junior totals (3,524 yards, 65 percent, 33 touchdowns to 10 interceptions).
But the masterpiece for Riley, of course, was Max Duggan. As was documented fully in the run-up to the national championship, the kid didn't even have the starting job entering the season and was backing up Chandler Morris.
Duggan's stats last year before Riley's arrival: 204 yards a game, 63.9 percent, 16 touchdowns, six interceptions.
Under Riley: 246 yards a game, 63.7 percent, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions.
Undoubtedly this move took some massaging for Swinney when he met with Cade Klubnik and Chris Vizzina to break the news. Both quarterbacks were extremely close with Streeter during their recruitments and beyond.
But the quarterback-development piece has to resonate, and had to be at the top of Swinney's pitch to the two triggermen. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
While watching TCU's run into the playoffs, we couldn't help but think of the coincidence that Duggan had been unseated by Morris -- the son of former Clemson coordinator Chad Morris.
And the only other quarterback the Tigers offered in the 2020 class beyond Uiagalelei. And let's just say they did so as a favor to elevate Chandler's exposure and recruiting profile -- in other words, to help an old friend.
No one would have predicted Chandler might have been closer to starting in a national championship at this stage in their careers.
Getting it right at quarterback makes all the difference in the world. You don't vie for championships without high-level quarterback play and production.
Some coaches and offensive systems yield that more consistently than others. They go hand-in-hand. Is it related that Brennan Armstrong had a much worse season upon switching to the offense of Streeter's predecessor? Worth a discussion.
But the point is, Riley's background suggests two key elements: 1) There's a high floor for his quarterback's production, and 2) The ceiling for the overall offense looks much higher, too, as far as consistently generating explosive plays and scoring punch.
It's going to be fascinating to see how Riley's run game thoughts are married to how Clemson's offensive line has been trained and constructed to date. That's not to say they won't, or that there will be conflict. But what you recruit, the mentality instilled and how coaches approach the position is all very specific, and we're simply interested in seeing whether the dynamics around the position change.
Yet foremost, as Larry suggested, this is as much about maximizing Clemson's quarterback riches.
We spent much of last season wondering if Klubnik would make the Tigers better.
Now there's the conviction Clemson will make Klubnik better. -- PAUL STRELOW
NOTE: Please do not copy/paste or summarize any portion of this article to other sites/social media, as it is a direct violation of copyright laws. Thank you!
By: Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
When Dabo Swinney sat alone after the season to undertake the unsparing process of evaluating Brandon Streeter, quarterback development was probably not a check mark in his favor.
Yes, you could argue it's probably not entirely fair to reduce your sample size to the rollercoaster that was DJ Uiagalelei.
But then you recall the images of Uiagalelei going back into a balky, deer-in-headlights shell in his 27th and 28th career starts against South Carolina and North Carolina. At that point it's darned hard to overlook his position coach.
Aside from his rock-star status at TCU -- and yes, he still has that status despite his boys being completely overwhelmed by the grown men from Georgia last Monday -- there's more to why Garrett Riley was so attractive to Swinney.
And you'd have to start with quarterback development.
Garrett Riley's profile has risen considerably over the last three seasons after serving as Appalachian State's running backs coach in 2019. (AP)
At Oklahoma, Tanner Mordecai redshirted in 2018 and watched Kyler Murray weave a masterpiece under Lincoln Riley.
Then Riley brought in Jalen Hurts. And then in 2020 it was Spencer Rattler at the controls in Norman.
After joining Garrett Riley and Sonny Dykes at SMU, Mordecai immediately blossomed.
The year before, senior Shane Buechele threw for more than 300 yards a game and completed 65.4 percent of his passes while totaling 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.
In 2021, Mordecai threw for 3,628 yards and completed 67.8 percent of his passes while piling up 39 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Dykes and Riley left for TCU, and this past season Mordecai's production was still very good but a slight tick off his junior totals (3,524 yards, 65 percent, 33 touchdowns to 10 interceptions).
But the masterpiece for Riley, of course, was Max Duggan. As was documented fully in the run-up to the national championship, the kid didn't even have the starting job entering the season and was backing up Chandler Morris.
Duggan's stats last year before Riley's arrival: 204 yards a game, 63.9 percent, 16 touchdowns, six interceptions.
Under Riley: 246 yards a game, 63.7 percent, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions.
Undoubtedly this move took some massaging for Swinney when he met with Cade Klubnik and Chris Vizzina to break the news. Both quarterbacks were extremely close with Streeter during their recruitments and beyond.
But the quarterback-development piece has to resonate, and had to be at the top of Swinney's pitch to the two triggermen. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
While watching TCU's run into the playoffs, we couldn't help but think of the coincidence that Duggan had been unseated by Morris -- the son of former Clemson coordinator Chad Morris.
And the only other quarterback the Tigers offered in the 2020 class beyond Uiagalelei. And let's just say they did so as a favor to elevate Chandler's exposure and recruiting profile -- in other words, to help an old friend.
No one would have predicted Chandler might have been closer to starting in a national championship at this stage in their careers.
Getting it right at quarterback makes all the difference in the world. You don't vie for championships without high-level quarterback play and production.
Some coaches and offensive systems yield that more consistently than others. They go hand-in-hand. Is it related that Brennan Armstrong had a much worse season upon switching to the offense of Streeter's predecessor? Worth a discussion.
But the point is, Riley's background suggests two key elements: 1) There's a high floor for his quarterback's production, and 2) The ceiling for the overall offense looks much higher, too, as far as consistently generating explosive plays and scoring punch.
It's going to be fascinating to see how Riley's run game thoughts are married to how Clemson's offensive line has been trained and constructed to date. That's not to say they won't, or that there will be conflict. But what you recruit, the mentality instilled and how coaches approach the position is all very specific, and we're simply interested in seeing whether the dynamics around the position change.
Yet foremost, as Larry suggested, this is as much about maximizing Clemson's quarterback riches.
We spent much of last season wondering if Klubnik would make the Tigers better.
Now there's the conviction Clemson will make Klubnik better. -- PAUL STRELOW
NOTE: Please do not copy/paste or summarize any portion of this article to other sites/social media, as it is a direct violation of copyright laws. Thank you!
