CLEMSON — Though Saturday’s Orange & White Spring Game is a chance for fans to see what the 2026 Clemson Tigers might look like, the story was all about freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds.
It was obvious Reynolds will go into the summer as the Tigers’ No. 2 quarterback behind Christopher Vizzina.
The true freshman came in and quarterbacked the White team’s first two possessions and then the fourth possession of the Orange team in the Orange’s 23-3 victory at Memorial Stadium.
Reynolds led the White team on a 9-play, 54-yard drive in the first quarter, the only successful offensive drive of the game for the White. The White’s opening drive was capped with a 35-yard Robert Gunn III field goal. Reynolds also led the Orange on a seven-play, 50-yard drive, which he capped by calling his own number for a 1-yard TD run.
The Queen Creek, Arizona native was 6-for-8 for 68 yards. He also ran for a TD.
GOOD DAY FOR CV
Reynolds was not the only quarterback, of course. Vizzina played well in the glorified scrimmage.
The redshirt junior completed 10 of 18 passes for 95 yards and a TD. His TD pass came on an 8-yard throw to freshman wide receiver Gordon Sellars. The TD pass was a fade to the left side, where Sellars made a nice one-handed catch for the score.
SPEAKING OF QUARTERBACKS
Chris Denson did not make an appearance in the first half of the Orange & White Game. The redshirt freshman was the fifth quarterback in the game. He quarterbacked the White team’s opening drive of the second half.
Denson finished the game 2-for-5 for 3 yards. He was sacked one time for minus-8 yards.
STACKED TEAM
There was little doubt who was going to win Saturday’s Orange & White game. The Orange team was stacked on both the offensive and defensive sides.
The offense had Vizzina at quarterback, and later Reynolds, too. Naeem Burroughs, Gordon Sellars and Tyler Brown at wide receiver. The Orange also had Gideon Davidson and Chris Johnson in the backfield.
The Tight end was Christian Bentancur. Also four of the projected starters on the offensive line — Elyjah Thurmon, Harris Sewell, Easton Ware, and Brayden Jacobs were on the Orange roster.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Orange had Ashton Hampton and Elliott Washington II at cornerback, Jerome Carter III and Corey Myrick at safety. The linebackers were Sammy Brown and Kobe McCloud, while the defensive line had Jaheim Lawson, Will Heldt, Markus Strong and Vic Burley.
SACK CITY
Clemson’s defenses combined to sack the quarterbacks 10 times on Saturday. Vic Burley and transfer London Merritt each had 2.5 sacks.
The White team was held to minus-4 rushing yards, but the Orange team ran for 106 yards, led by Davidson’s 80 yards.
BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE
Dabo Swinney rode a lot of players in the game, but he was really hard on kicker Nolan Hauser.
The placekicker missed a 48-yard field goal before halftime.
In the fourth quarter, when the Orange bogged down at the White 34, Swinney decided to go for it instead of kicking it. The Tigers did not get the first down, so Swinney stopped everything and asked Hauser to come out and give it a try to see what might have happened had he kicked it.
Hauser missed the 51-yard kick to the right. As Hauser was walking off the field, Swinney said, “I made the right decision.”
He later bounced back with a 56-yard field goal at the end of the scrimmage.
UP NEXT
Clemson will begin fall camp in late July or early August. The season begins on Sept. 5 at LSU.