CLEMSON — As expected, it was a pretty vanilla Orange and White spring game in Clemson on Saturday.

The stacked Orange team came away with a 23-3 win over the clearly overmatched White team.

The Orange squad, which had most of the defensive starters, held the White team to -4 yards rushing, while totaling nine sacks on the afternoon. London Merritt was credited with 2.5 sacks, as was Vic Burley.

Vizzina the Guy Heading Into Summer

Vizzina is the clear-cut No. 1 coming out of the spring. The rising redshirt junior went 10-of-18 for 95 yards and a touchdown throw, playing just the first half. He wasn’t overly impressive, but he was solid. It was a pretty vanilla game plan of offense. His back-shoulder touchdown pass couldn’t have been thrown much better.

Clear-Cut No. 2?

It appears the Tigers have settled on a backup quarterback. After taking all the second team reps in the media viewing window on Monday, freshman Tait Reynolds was once again clearly QB2 on Saturday. Chris Denson, who was expected to be a factor in the battle for the starting job, was not even seen in the first half.

Reynolds was 6-of-8 passing for 68 yards and he ran one in for a score.

If anyone in that room is going to challenge Chris Vizzina in the summer and fall, it is going to be the true freshman.

Transfer Juice

The transfers have added some juice to this team. Elliot Washington II looks strong in coverage, as does Donovan Starr. Markus Strong was solid on the interior. Jerome Carter III and Corey Myrick are going to be strong additions on the backend.

However, it was London Merritt who made his presence felt most. The rising sophomore had multiple sacks in the first quarter alone.

Chris Johnson didn’t get a ton of work on Saturday, but he had one 10-yard run where his explosiveness was on full display.

Freshman Wideouts

While Naeem Burroughs and even Connor Salmin got a lot of the 2026 recruiting hype, it was Gordon Sellers who stood out on Saturday. He had three catches, including a back-shoulder touchdown grab from Vizzina that was a thing of beauty.

Taking That Next Step

Gideon Davidson looked exactly how Chad Morris described him after Wednesday’s practice. The rising sophomore looks primed to take that next step after averaging close to nine yards per carry.

Nolan Hauser Struggles

Hauser missed both of his field goal attempts, one from 48 and one from 51. Dabo Swinney was letting his kicker know he was not pleased. This comes after Swinney called out Hauser for having a poor showing in the final practice before the team broke for spring break.