CLEMSON – Safety at Clemson
Khalil Barnes stood against a brick wall after training on Friday, sweat still running down his face, and he smiled.

“Coach Riley? He gives us work,” Barnes said when asked about Clemson’s offense.

Barnes, who is entering his second season as one of the mainstays of the Clemson secondary, was asked what he has seen from the offense so far in fall camp.

“They definitely look a lot better this year. They’re giving their playmakers space,” Barnes said. “I feel like a lot more of TB (Tyler Brown), Sound (Antonio Williams), (Bryant) Wesco, TJ Moorehe came in, so he was pretty good too. You see a lot of guys, Tink (Misun Kelley), all of them, it’s not like our offense from last year. Last year I felt like we had them in a box, but this year they’re just more free. You can tell they’re having a lot more fun. They’ve got a really good connection with Cade (Klubnik), so it’s been good work for us. Good preparation.”

Corner Avieon Terrell agreed.

“The competition is a lot better. That’s what we need,” Terrell said. “They punch us in the face. We punch them in the face. But yeah, Cade, the receivers, everybody. There’s just a whole different passion out there. Everybody’s running good routes. It’s competitive. We talk and they talk, so it’s good out there. Great competition.”

Barnes said Klubnik was more of a leader.

“Cade has looked a lot better. I think he’s always had talent for shooting, but I think with him it’s just been leadership, and this year he’s become a lot more vocal, a lot more comfortable at his position and that all carries over,” Barnes said. “It all comes down to one thing. At the end of the day, when he became a better leader, all of a sudden the offense looked like it was playing better. But that’s always been the case — when the days when Cade was talking last year were their best days. Now it’s just that he’s like that every day. So as a defense, we know we have to bring it every day. So on August 31st, hopefully everyone will see that.”

Barnes said the offense was more successful on the field.

“Last year it felt like it was just picking routes or running a concept, but this year you can definitely tell Cade has the coaches’ trust,” Barnes said. “And Coach (Garrett) Riley, I told you he’s worth money, he’s got it all figured out. He’s got it figured out right now. He’s giving us a lot, I don’t want to go into all the formations and plays, but you can be sure he’s giving us work.”