New Clemson Offensive Coordinator Garrett Riley Calls Mike Leach 'One of the Biggest Influences' On His Life
Late Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach had an impact on the lives of countless people before his unexpected death in December, including Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.
Riley spent time playing for Leach and was connected to him even before that when his brother, Lincoln Riley, was working under Leach at Texas Tech.
He says it's because of Leach that he wanted to coach and describes him as "one of the biggest influences" on his life.
"Was there at Texas Tech when the run they were going on at that point in time and kind of opening your eyes to cutting-edge offense and an offense that was kind of taking college by storm and...playing for a guy that was as unique and entertaining as he was," Riley said. "It was like, 'Hell, this coaching thing looks pretty cool. Maybe I need to try that.' So, he was, like I said, a huge influence on me."
At Muleshoe High School, not far from Texas Tech, Riley ran the Air Raid.
"We were able to kind of implement some of those things early on and was one of the probably first high schools to do it, at least in our region," Garrett Riley said in a meeting with the media this month. "That was kind of the first experience to be in that offense. And, you know, for me as a player doing it at Muleshoe and able to see it there with Mike and Lincoln and (now TCU head coach) Sonny (Dykes) and all those guys was pretty cool at that point in time."
It will be interesting to watch how Riley's ties to the Air Raid impact the Clemson offense moving forward as Leach continues to live on through those he connected with.
