Following the annual spring game, head coach Dabo Swinney confirmed Christopher Vizzina as QB1 for Clemson football’s 2026 season, with freshman Tait Reynolds as the clear No. 2 option.
“We came out of the spring, CV one and Tait is two (on the depth chart),” Swinney clarified to the media, after questions and assumptions had plagued Tigertown all offseason. “It’s not close. Those two guys separated, and that’s where we are. That’s just where we are.”
Some people wanted to see Clemson take a long-term approach with true freshman Reynolds to add some flashiness to Clemson football. Others still described themselves as Chris Denson lovers, or truthers, and felt his Furman performance sold them on who the 2026 quarterback should be. Finally, some even wanted Dabo to indulge in the transfer portal.
Clemson faithful now have their answer, and it’s the safest one. Vizzina, the immediate Cade Klubnik backup, has been brought up the depth chart to lead the Tigers under center at the season opener in Baton Rouge’s own Death Valley.
The news worries some fans, with some thinking Vizzina has not shown enough to be the guy for the Tigers, or even that he lacks the tools to be a championship-caliber quarterback. As much as Klubnik was a fan favorite, it is a valid concern that he may be a duplicate of the former starter, which is a terrifying thought after the QB1’s regression in 2025.
Vizzina only had one start in his sophomore season: the SMU game when he stepped up to the plate after Klubnik went down against Boston College. From solely a statistical perspective, the quarterback’s lone start was solid: 317 yards with a completion percentage of 69%, a trifecta of touchdowns and no turnovers to boot. Unfortunately, the Tigers still lost 35-24 with Vizzina under center.
Brooks Austin, a college football film expert who creates analysis for his YouTube channel, “The Film Guy Network,” posted a 46-minute video analyzing each of Vizzina’s plays from that SMU start in light of the news of Swinney choosing him as QB1. Throughout the video, Austin attributes many of Vizzina’s mistakes to easy receiver drops, miscues and miscommunication.
Austin also makes a good point about many of the 2025 Clemson offense’s overall faults: a poor offensive line. This may explain Klubnik’s various “happy feet” moments and why Vizzina, who lacks a proven scrambling ability, was pressured into bad decisions during the SMU game.
“That’s got to get fixed,” Austin remarked on the topic of the offensive line. “I don’t care how bad, how good the quarterback play is, it’s hard to survive like that, okay?”
Austin concluded his analysis video by stating he enjoyed what he saw out of Vizzina and “didn’t see a bad decision.” He was impressed by what Vizzina had shown in his first career start, and believed the quarterback is a “good enough athlete.” Yet Austin claims the main thing Vizzina needs to fix is his ball flight.
Months later, Vizzina dazzled in his purple-coated spring game performance with a convincing display full of zippy throws and overall consistency in his decision-making, adding to Austin’s point about truly not seeing a bad decision in the SMU match.
Many Tiger fans believe former offensive coordinator Garrett Riley did not add true offensive variation in his playcalling and stuck to a certain game plan even if it didn’t work, as well as that the offense overall needed a more versatile playbook.
Enter Chad Morris, the high-flying, explosive offensive coordinator poised to bring the big guns back to Clemson. With an already zippy arm, Vizzina’s game can surely be constructed over the summer to match the gutsy offensive playbook Morris will offer to the new age of Clemson football.
That’s not even to mention the teachings that new quarterback coach Tajh Boyd will invest in Vizzina.
“Tajh has always been there for me,” Vizzina said. “I don’t know how many teams in the country can have a quarterback coach who played in the same system, and you can watch him do it on the screen. So that means a lot.”
The truth is, outside of the SMU film and some spring game analysis, which is hard to truly look into since it’s intrasquad, Vizzina is still practically unknown in his skill set. CBS Sports ranked Vizzina the ninth-best quarterback in the ACC, which is an appropriate ranking and places him as a perfectly middle-of-the-pack QB while scouts try to figure out his game.
There is still the looming threat of Reynolds in the depth chart. Swinney made a massive point in his press statements following the spring game that Reynolds has “done everything to move up” the depth chart. Carefully choosing his words, at least Reynolds believers may hope, Swinney added that Vizzina has not backed up at all in his progress, but the head coach refrains from talking about his leaps at the position.
Vizzina very well may prove unimpressive to start the season, sending Dabo into panic mode and placing Reynolds at the helm. Reynolds would certainly add the flashiness most Clemson fans sought after Denson’s Furman showing.
Reynolds’ story is certainly a fun one. He had a 61% completion rate during his junior year of high school, a 22-5 touchdown-interception ratio and a seven-win improvement. The Arizona Cardinals named Reynolds the Offensive Player of the Year in Arizona high school football during the 2024 season. His baseball background also backs up his arm strength.
Vizzina might be a second Klubnik, or could shock the world and come out of nowhere for a title like Stetson Bennett or Joe Burrow. Maybe inconsistent play will rub off on him from stepping into Klubnik’s shoes, and Reynolds will take over midseason. While the quarterback battle may have been resolved, as Dabo confirmed, next season may reveal that it is just the beginning.
