Clemson football could add these TCU players after Garrett Riley is named offensive coordinator
It's only natural to wonder after Clemson football officially hires Garrett Riley from TCU to be offensive coordinator.
Who else can Clemson add from Riley's offense to help the Tigers? TCU was the ninth-best scoring team in FBS. Those players with close relationships to Riley might be willing to follow him to Death Valley and try to make the national championship game with a different team. The transfer portal closes Wednesday and reopens again May 1-15.
Clemson on Thursday fired offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter, a former Tigers quarterback who had been on the staff since December 2014. He took over the offense's top spot in last season's bowl game and helped beat Iowa State after Tony Elliott left to become coach Virginia.
Riley is more than a decade younger than Streeter, only 33, and seems to be a hot commodity in the coaching ranks. The younger brother of Southern Cal coach Lincoln Riley helped get TCU into the national championship game. The Frogs were squashed by Georgia, 65-7, but that’s a position Clemson would like to be in again after missing the playoffs for the past two years.
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The Tigers' most glaring need and most obvious connection to Riley's offense is at wide receiver. Clemson has been called Wide Receiver University because of all the former players now in the NFL. But there's been a little bit of a gap in those send-offs. The most reliable returning pass-catchers for 2023, arguably, just finished their freshman seasons. They are No. 1 target Antonio Williams, Adam Randall (10 catches) and Cole Turner (eight).
Clemson football's possible wish list from TCU's offense:
WR Quentin Johnston – OK, that's setting the target a little too high. Johnston is yet to officially declare himself eligible for the NFL Draft, but he would likely be the first wide receiver taken as a top-20 overall pick. The 6-foot-4 target had 60 catches for 1,069 yards with six touchdowns during the 2022 season.
WR Caleb Medford – Well, then this is probably too low. Medford is a 6-foot-3, third-year sophomore who is in the transfer portal. Yes, but he's barely played and has never caught a pass. He's not following Riley to Clemson or anywhere else. His new team will be in the Group of Five at best. Not here.
WR Savion Williams – This might work. Williams, a junior with two years of eligibility remaining, is 6-foot-5 and a former four-star recruit who was ranked as a top-30 recruit by Rivals. Williams, a high school quarterback in Texas, scored four touchdowns this season. He could make immediate impact.
TE Jared Wiley – If Clemson is looking for an end zone target to replace Davis Allen, who is headed to the NFL, the Tigers couldn't go wrong with the 6-foot-7 Wiley, who had four touchdowns this season. He also has two years of eligibility remaining. Clemson has rising NFL talent in Jake Briningstool, but Wiley is a possible addition.
QB Walker White – He's a class of 2024 prospect, a four-star recruit from Little Rock, Arkansas, and has been expected to choose Ole Miss. But he had an offer from TCU, is thought to have a good relationship with Riley, and could switch his allegiance to a school that developed Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence.
Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: TCU players who could join Garrett Riley with Tigers
