Sports Illustrated ranked all 68 projected Power 4 starting quarterbacks ahead of the 2026 season.

Fourth-year man Christopher Vizzina is the leader in Clemson’s quarterback battle entering fall camp, remaining in what head coach Dabo Swinney calls the “pole position” when it comes to the Tigers’ quarterback race.

Vizzina, who has patiently waited for his chance to be Clemson’s QB1, just did crack the top 50 of Sports Illustrated’s QB rankings — coming in at No. 50 exactly.

“Clemson is moving past the never-fully-realized Cade Klubnik era by turning to the guy who backed him up for the past two years,” Sports Illustrated’s Zach Koons wrote. “It would seem to be a very typical move by Dabo Swinney to favor continuity and familiarity rather than dip into the portal, but it could also be a testament that Vizzina is the best option for the Tigers. In his sole start against SMU, Vizzina was far from the issue, throwing for 317 yards and three touchdowns in a 35–24 loss. If he’s capable of producing performances like that more regularly, Clemson may be able to right the ship after a few down years.”

Vizzina will still be at the top of the quarterback depth chart when fall camp gets underway, though true freshman Tait Reynolds really pushed Vizzina in the spring and has continued to do so through summer workouts, and Reynolds will get his shot during fall camp to push for the starting job.

Before enrolling at Clemson in January 2023, Vizzina was ranked among the nation’s top prospects in the 2023 recruiting class. The high four-star had more than 30 offers, including from some of the best football programs in the country.

Heading into 2026 after his first three years at Clemson, Vizzina has completed 61 percent of his passes for 596 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in 238 career offensive snaps across 14 games, while also rushing for 109 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries.

The Athletic recently released tier rankings of all 138 projected FBS starting quarterbacks, ranking Vizzina No. 53 overall and putting him in Tier 4.

In that article from The Athletic, one ACC personnel staffer didn’t heap glowing praise on Vizzina, calling him “just OK.”

“He’s just OK,” the ACC staffer said. “Obviously, another year and him finally being the guy and getting more reps isn’t gonna hurt him. But he didn’t do anything where I’m like, ‘Oh my, I’m scared of him.’”

As for Sports Illustrated’s QB rankings, here’s where every projected Power 4 starter on Clemson’s 2026 schedule is ranked:

• Miami’s Darian Mensah (No. 5)
• LSU’s Sam Leavitt (No. 9)
• Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (No. 16)
• South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers (No. 22)
• Virginia Tech’s Ethan Grunkemeyer (No. 32)
• Syracuse’s Steve Angeli (No. 35)
• Georgia Tech’s Alberto Mendoza (No. 42)
• Duke’s Walker Eget (No. 59)
• Florida State’s Ashton Daniels (No. 60)
• North Carolina’s Billy Edwards Jr. (No. 61)