How close has Clemson been so far to making a quarterback switch?
Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley says the Tigers have not come close to making the decision to go with backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina as the starting quarterback over Cade Klubnik.
“No, we haven’t been close to that yet,” Riley said during his press conference Tuesday.
Vizzina, a redshirt sophomore, is now in his second season serving as the backup to Klubnik. With Clemson stumbling out to a 1-3 start, many have wondered whether the Tigers might opt to bench Klubnik in favor of Vizzina.
Riley was asked if the call to go with Vizzina would be his own call, head coach Dabo Swinney’s call, or a collaboration.
“I think always, those sort of decisions are a collaboration,” Riley said.
Coming into the season, Klubnik was frequently mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate. However, the senior signal caller has failed to live up to the lofty preseason expectations.
Through four games, Klubnik has completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 996 yards and six touchdowns passes with four interceptions. The former five-star prospect currently ranks 96th nationally in completion percentage, 96th in passer rating (124.6), tied for 90th in yards/attempt (6.7), tied for 45th in touchdown passes and 36th in passing yards per game (249.0).
Vizzina was a highly touted 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. For his career, he is 19-of-34 passing for 190 yards. He’s also rushed for 68 yards, including one touchdown run.
Swinney maintains that he has confidence in Vizzina’s ability, but still believes that, for now, Klubnik still gives the Tigers a better shot at winning.
“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,” Swinney said during his Monday Zoom call with the media.