Jason Priester/All Clemson
Clemson OC Brandon Streeter is Making Dabo Swinney Look Pretty Good
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Through the first five games of the 2022 season, Clemson's offensive numbers look like this:
- Points per game: 41.0 (15th nationally)
- Total yards per game: 437.6 (48th)
- Passing yards per game: 261.8 (48th)
- Rushing yards per game: 175.8 (51st)
- Yards per play: 5.99 (58th)
- Offensive success rate: 37.5 (38th)
- Plays of 20+ yards: 29 (28th)
- Red zone scoring: 100% (1)
- Red zone touchdowns: 21 (3rd)
- Third-down conversions: 52.56% (9th)
These numbers are light years from last season when the Tigers ranked in the 100s in some of these categories. Everything was a struggle. Points and yards had to be manufactured.
This year, those important aspects of winning flow more naturally from the scheme and the personnel. It's a huge reason why No. 5 Clemson is a 5-0 with two wins over a pair of top-15 teams in the AP Poll.
So what's different? For starters, it's the starters. The Tigers are playing with more confidence, especially quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who's completing 65.4% of his passes and has thrown for 1,242 yards and 11 touchdowns with just one interception.
There are plenty of other players who are shining right now, including RB Will Shipley, WR Antonio Williams, RT Blake Miller, among others. The O-line is more cohesive and the receivers are holding on to more accurate passes.
There's another big reason for the change and it has more to do with scheme and game-planning. Brandon Streeter, who has been the quarterbacks coach with the Tigers since late 2014, is now the offensive coordinator and play-caller.
The decision to promote from within at a time when the Tigers were coming off the most disappointing offensive season of the Dabo Swinney era was met with criticism. Some of it was warranted when you consider how bad the offense was last year. Nobody would've blamed Swinney for bringing in a new voice after Tony Elliott left to become the head coach at Virginia.
But Swinney always believed Streeter was the right man for the job. He also moved Kyle Richardson from analyst to the passing game coordinator and tight ends coach. Those two have had a very positive impact on the offense.
Despite not calling plays for nine years, Streeter has rewarded Swinney's confidence in him with three key elements that have helped make Clemson's offense much more formidable in a short amount of time:
Tight ends usage: Tiger fans have been screaming for this one for years, and it's finally hit. Davis Allen and Jake Briningstool have brought a receiving element to the passing game that's helped propel this attack forward. Not only have they combined for 24% of the team's receptions, 23% of the receiving yards and 42% of the touchdowns in the passing game, but they're also changing how defenses handle Clemson.
This has led to creative formations and motions that Clemson hasn't seen in recent years either. Because Streeter uses them behind the line of scrimmage, split wide on the one end of the field and sometimes both in the game at the same time, it's forced the opponent to account for the tight end on every single snap. That helps move defenders around and open up plays for the receivers and runners.
DJ in the run game: The starting quarterback has rushed 55 times for 242 yards. Uiagalelei's recording 11 rushes per game and has scored three times on the ground. This might be the most underrated element of the entire offense. Hampered by a bad knee for much of last season, Uiagalelei averaged 2.9 yards per carry. That's up to 4.4 this season. Streeter has made a commitment to get his QB involved in the run game as much as possible.
And he's not limited to only using Uiagalelei on read-option plays alone. Yes, that's a big part of what the Tigers do in terms of getting rushing yards and using RPOs out of that as well. But Streeter is using some of the QB run schemes that Lincoln Riley made popular at Oklahoma and now USC. Clemson will pull a guard around the center to clear a hole for Uiagalelei to run through. It's a timing play that Clemson is turning into success.
Third-down calls: Clemson produced its worst third-down conversion rate (37.1%) of the Swinney era in 2021. The Tigers have only been over 50% twice during his 13-year tenure. They're on pace for that right now, and it might be the most surprising stat of the season, especially when you consider this: Clemson ranks 94th nationally in the percentage of first downs it gets from first and second downs and 81st in early-downs EPA.
They've gotten into the 18th-most third downs in the country, and the conversion rate is ninth-best nationally. Some of it might be luck, but it sure seems like Streeter has figured out how to call the right play when the Tigers need it most. Confidence in the personnel and gaining a feel for the opponent and the moment are big reasons for this massive improvement.
Streeter is also getting input from players on what's working and what's not. He's using tempo in spots where it makes sense and keeps the defense on its heels.
As progressive and promising as this offense has been, it's far from a complete product. Look at the numbers above again. They aren't all elite. Streeter and the players will tell you there's room to grow, but the major and subtle changes the new OC has implemented are paying off and making Swinney look pretty good for giving his long-time assistant a shot at the big time.
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