CLEMSON — While Cade Klubnik is still his starting quarterback, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney didn’t entirely slam the door shut on a potential change at some point down the line.

Redshirt sophomore Chris Vizzina is now in his second season serving as Klubnik’s backup, and with the Tigers stumbling out to a 1-3 start, many are curious about whether Swinney might elect to sit Klubnik.

While the head coach once again maintains that he has confidence in Vizzina’s ability, Swinney still believes that, for now, Klubnik still gives the Tigers a better shot at winning.

“Yeah, there is confidence, and there is confidence in Cade,” Swinney said during his Monday Zoom call with the media. “He is still our starter.”

Coming into the season, Klubnik was frequently mentioned as a Heisman candidate. However, the senior signal caller has failed to live up to the lofty preseason expectations. Klubnik is completing just 60% of his throws and has almost as many turnovers (5) as touchdown passes (6).

While Swinney readily admits he needs more from his quarterback, he also insists Klubnik is far from the only problem.

“Everybody has to be better,” Swinney added. “Coaches have to be better, Cade has to be better, defense has to be better, receivers have to be better, everybody has to be better.”

Vizzina was a high-profile quarterback coming out of high school. The former four-star talent amassed 7,220 yards and 59 touchdown passes in his prep career, while adding another 29 scores via his legs.

Although, despite being in his third season at Clemson, Vizzina has seen very little game action. He is kind of an unknown commodity at this point. For his career, he is 19-of-34 for 190 yards. He’s also rushed for 68 yards, including one touchdown run.

What Swinney did not do was totally slam the door shut on a possible change at some point down the line, but as things currently stand, Swinney plans to stick with Klubnik.

“I definitely have confidence in CV, and who knows what the future holds, but where we are right now, we feel like Cade is still our starter.”

Photo by Bart Boatwright