New OC Garrett Riley looks to push Clemson offense into next gear Wisconsin’s Fickell promotes Letton to tight ends coach Jim Harbaugh: Michigan good place to be despite challenges

CLEMSON, South Carolina – Garret Riley almost familiar with his new object in Clemson – the emphasis is almost.

Riley, who managed TCU’s offense en route to the national title game last season, took over as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach days after the Horned Frogs lost the CFP Georgia Championship last month.

Since then, he’s been warning recruits as he guides them through Clemson’s massive operations center: “You’d better not ask me where anything is,” Riley said Wednesday at his formal introduction.

Clemson signed his entire class of 27 in December before the offensive changes. tiger trainer Dabo Sweeney said the program celebrates its new members on national signing day, and there is no newcomer more important than Riley.

Riley, 33, is the current winner of the Broyles Award for best assistant in the game for what he has done in TCU, from five wins in 2021 to the college football playoffs.

It all happened so quickly – Sweeney and Riley spoke for the first time the night after the TCU loss – that Riley didn’t get a chance to fully celebrate his accomplishments last season.

“It was a whirlwind,” he said. “It was a great ride (at TCU) as it was at Clemson.”

Sweeney praised his previous coordinator, Brandon Streeterwho led an offense that improved in yards and points from 2021 to 2022 and won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in his only season in charge.

“I just felt like now is the time,” Sweeney said. “We were not quite where we should have been.”

Sweeney spoke to Brother Riley, a Southern California coach. Lincoln Riley, about Garrett before talking to him directly. According to Sweeney, Garrett Riley was the only person he talked to about the job.

Garrett Riley played quarterback at Texas Institute of Technology and was primed for the latest Air Raid offense. Mike Leach.

Riley said Leach, who died two months ago while he was head coach of Mississippi State, had a profound effect on his coaching career — and not necessarily tic-tac-toe.

Leach and his “out of the box thinking” really appealed to me,” Riley said.

Sweeney liked the way Riley used running more. TCU finished 31st nationally with nearly 194 rushing yards per game. Riley is still training new hires, but she believes Tigers runners are the key to success. Will Shipley And Phil Mafah.

Shipley, a first-time All-ACC selection, had 1,182 yards and 15 touchdowns. Maf had 515 yards and four touchdowns.

According to Sweeney, Riley is called “Air Raid” because of his past. “But if you study him, he controls football,” the head coach continued. “I have no doubt that he will make us better offensively.”

Riley hired expected starting quarterback Clemson. Cade Strawberry at SMU when he worked there a few years ago and believes they will have a strong and productive partnership in the future.

Every aspect of Clemson’s program gives Riley confidence that the Tigers can return to where TCU were this year in the CFP Semi-Finals, something Clemson has missed in the past two seasons after six in a row from 2015 to 2020.

Strawnik entered the starting lineup at the end of the season, displacing DJ Wiagaleley early in the ACC title game and led the Tigers to a 39–10 victory over North Carolina. The Strawberries and Tigers struggled in Tennessee’s Orange Bowl loss, 31-14.

Riley sees the potential of his new band and sees Strawberry as a driving force.

“I know this guy is foaming at the mouth, as are the rest of our players, and trust me, we coaches are ready to go too,” Riley said.

Riley, who was born and raised in Texas, said he and his family were happy at TCU. He wasn’t about to leave, especially after the big Horned Frogs season. But Clemson gave Riley the perfect opportunity to advance his career. He received a three-year contract worth $1.75 million a year.

“It had to be something that was going to tick all the boxes,” Riley said.

MADISON, Wisconsin. Wisconsin promoted Nate Letton from Quality Control Coach to Tight Ends Coach, allowing him to fill the same role as before. Luke FickellCincinnati staff last season.

Fickell, now Wisconsin’s head coach, originally chose the former Cincinnati offensive coordinator. Gino Guidugli like his tight ends coach. Guidugli has since left Wisconsin and is expected to take over as coach of the Notre Dame quarterbacks.

Letton was a graduate assistant at Cincinnati from 2020-21 before coaching tight finishes last season. His hard ends in Cincinnati included Josh WyleAll-American Sports Conference first team selection.

“Nate is an amazing young coach and we are very lucky to be able to add him to our on-field staff,” Fickell said in a statement from the university. “Having worked with him for the last three years, I have seen firsthand his tireless work ethic and his ability to unite and mentor our student athletes.”

Letton was also an assistant coach at the Central College of the Division III program from 2015 to 2019. The former center midfielder has worked with wide receivers, tight ends and attacking linemen while coaching at his alma mater.

ANNE ARBOR, Michigan. – Jim Harbaugh He’s had an eventful offseason, from interviews with the Denver Broncos to negotiations with the NCAA about potential violations in Michigan’s football program and the firing of an assistant coach under police investigation.

“Compare us to excellence and we’ll lose in major areas,” Harbaugh said Thursday in his first post-season address to reporters. “Compare us to any other program, I think you’ll see that it doesn’t get any better.”

A year after he said the door was closed to a return to the NFL, the former San Francisco 49ers coach spoke to the Broncos about their vacant coaching position, later filled by Sean Payton.

Harbaugh said several coaches on his staff were talking to NFL teams and decided to stay at the school.

“I am one of them,” he said. “People do what they think is best for them professionally and personally.”

However, there was one coaching change. According to documents released by the school, joint offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was fired in January after failing to attend a meeting to discuss whether he had accessed computer accounts belonging to other people.

“I don’t really know anything, and if I did, I don’t think I could comment on it,” Harbaugh said.

Shortly after the Wolverines lost 51–45 to TCU in the college football playoff semi-finals, Michigan announced that it had received notice that the NCAA was looking into potential rule violations in the football program.

The investigation involves inappropriate text messages and calls, including from Harbaugh, to high school applicants during the pandemic-related dead period to contact potential recruits. The NCAA is also investigating whether a member of Michigan’s off-field football staff violated rules by conducting on-field practices during practice.

Harbaugh told NCAA investigators in several meetings last month that he would not accept the charge of unethical behavior, according to a person familiar with the situation. The man spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the details of the investigation were not made public.

Harbaugh told reporters he could not comment on the NCAA case.

Hours later, Harbaugh’s spring training press conference, Ann Arbor Police tweeted a video showing a coach helping an officer clear a fallen tree from the street during last night’s ice storm.

“You’re a good man,” Officer Howard Cooper said to Harbaugh.

“Feel free to spread the word about it,” Harbaugh said. “Don’t think you have to keep it to yourself.”