CLEMSON — With Dabo Swinney electing not to pursue a quarterback in the transfer portal, all eyes are now on Chris Vizzina.

To be clear, Vizzina still has to go out and win the job, but he does have a leg up on Chris Denson and the two incoming freshmen, Tait Reynolds and Brock Bradley. Vizzina has been on campus for three seasons now, while Denson just finished up his first.

However, with Chad Morris coming in as the offensive coordinator and a new scheme set to be installed during spring practice, it’s basically a clean slate for everyone. During his first tenure with the Tigers, Morris’ offense was very quarterback-friendly. It surely didn’t hurt having wideouts like Nuk Hopkins and Sammy Watkins, but Morris’s scheme was just the right fit for triggerman Tajh Boyd.

Will his offense be just the right fit for the next quarterback? That’s one of the biggest questions of the offseason. At the same time, whoever wins the job, that person will have no shortage of weapons at their disposal.

With T.J. Moore, Bryant Wesco and Tyler Brown all set to return in 2026, the Tigers have one of the best trios of receivers in the ACC. Add the three incoming blue-chip freshmen, Naeem Burroughs, Connor Salmin and Gordon Sellars to the mix, and the room should be extremely deep. Not to mention the possibility of Tristan Smith returning for one more season is still on the table, and Cole Turner also returns.

With Morris calling the plays, the running game should be much improved as well. Despite having more than capable backs on the roster, the rushing attack has been fairly lackluster at times over the past couple of seasons. That should change in 2026.

Gideon Davidson is expected to lead the charge out of the backfield. Davidson got just enough experience during his freshman campaign that he should be ready to roll out of the gate come September.

Alongside Davidson, rising redshirt sophomore David Eziomume is expected to take on a larger role next season, but how much larger that role will be is now in question after the addition of SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr. Who knows, maybe Morris finds a way to get all three heavily involved.

The staff has also been in search of a veteran offensive lineman to come in and help strengthen a unit that has a lot of talent, but also its fair share of inexperience.

While it’s certainly fair to question the decision not to target a quarterback in the portal, one thing is certain. After three years of inconsistency on that side of the ball, Swinney appears dead-set on getting his offense back on track.

While some of those on the outside looking in may not have all that much confidence in the quarterbacks currently on the roster, Swinney does. By going back to the familiar face in Morris to run the offense and adding Johnson to the backfield, Swinney is giving his next quarterback tools to be successful.

Whether it’s Vizzina, Denson, or one of the two freshmen, whoever wins the job should have the necessary pieces in place at the skill spots to be successful.

Photo by Bart Boatwright