CLEMSON, S.C. -- The speed at which Clemson’s offense has changed this spring has been measured by each five-minute practice period.

Most college football teams average about nine plays during that span. At Clemson, the Tigers have learned to do that and still have about 1:10 remaining.

“If I let them go slow, they’re going to go slow,” said first-year offensive coordinator Chad Morris. “I refuse to do that.”

It’s a season of change at Clemson, where the Tigers have a new coordinator, new quarterback and new offensive philosophy. The challenge for first-year starting quarterback Tajh Boyd has been and will continue to be managing the up-tempo, no-huddle, spread offense while at the same time slowing down his thought process just long enough to make his reads and the right decisions. How well Boyd and his teammates execute the offense this fall will be the biggest factor in determining whether Clemson can be a contender again in the Atlantic Division.

“It is going to be a work in progress,” Morris said. “Obviously, the more games you play, the better you’re going to get at it. If we’ll just learn to manage the game from a quarterback standpoint, that’s going to be the biggest key -- getting him to not being in a hurry with his reads and everything.”

There are only a handful of other teams running a similar offense -- the most notable being national champion Auburn, runner-up Oregon, Tulsa and Pittsburgh. One of the more common misconceptions about it is that it's a pass-heavy offense. Tulsa was the only team in the country last year to rank among the top 15 in the country in both passing and rushing offense. In Clemson’s most recent scrimmage, the Tigers ran the ball 41 times.

“I just felt like this system is going to be a little unique in our conference,” Swinney said. “We’re going to be a little different than everybody else. I love the fact that it’s a power running game. People hear the spread, they think you’re going to throw it 70 times a game, and I’m not the least bit interested in that. I want to be a balanced football team.”

Last year, they were equally mediocre at both.

Clemson ranked No. 86 in scoring offense at 24 points per game. Morris almost doubled that while at Tulsa last year, averaging 41.38 points per game. On game day, most offenses average about 65 plays in four quarters. Clemson’s goal this fall is to average at least 80.

Swinney said he didn’t feel any pressure to make any staff changes following last year’s 6-7 season, and he denied the perception that he and former offensive coordinator Billy Napier clashed.

“I'm not a micromanager," Swinney said. "I just laugh when I hear people say that, because it couldn’t be anything further from the truth. ... Philosophically, that’s one of the reasons I made a change. I hire them to do their jobs. I’m not in there telling them this is what we’ve got to do. I just wanted to go in a different direction, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Different as in north versus south.

Last year, Clemson ran 866 snaps. Tulsa ran 1,008 in the same number of games.

“That’s three games worth of plays,” Swinney said. “That’s more touches for [Andre] Ellington, that’s more touches for Jaron [Brown], it’s more touches for Nuke [DeAndre Hopkins] -- whoever it is. You have more opportunities to score points.”

By all accounts, the players aren’t just buying in, they’re having fun.

“It can be even faster once everything gets adjusted,” Boyd said, adding that the Tigers are up to about 16 or 17 plays now during that five-minute period. “It’s mental, making sure you get your thought process together. The first couple days was kind of fast, like, 'Wow, I don’t know how this is going to work out.' But in the offseason, guys really prepared themselves, especially the linemen. It’s a totally different aura around here. People are excited. Hopefully we can give them something to smile about.”

Hopkins said he watched film of Auburn and Oregon not only to see how the offense was executed, but to see how the defense reacted when the no-huddle offense lined up.

“It works for them,” he said, “as you can see.”

About 60 percent of the offense has been installed this spring, and Morris said that if Clemson had to start the season this week, it could. While the philosophy itself has been a drastic change, the plays are actually shorter, flow easier and give the quarterback a little more control.

“Is the average fan going to be able to notice a difference? No question. No question,” Morris said. “They’ll be able to notice a big difference.”

The question is whether they’ll notice a difference in the win column, too.