It’s official.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has officially named a starting quarterback for Week 1.

Swinney announced the decision during his Tuesday press conference, saying senior Christopher Vizzina will start at QB over true freshman Tait Reynolds “this week.”

Clemson kicks off the 2026 campaign on Saturday at LSU. Kickoff at LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.. is slated for 7:30 p.m. on ABC.

“He’s earned that,” Swinney said of Vizzina starting Week 1.

Entering fall camp, Vizzina, a former highly touted recruit who backed up Cade Klubnik for multiple years, remained in what Swinney calls the “pole position” when it comes to the Tigers’ quarterback race. As for Reynolds, the former multi-sport star injected some intrigue into the competition by clearly separating himself from other backups and pushing Vizzina during the spring, summer and fall camp.

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.

Last season, Vizzina appeared in five games, completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns with one interception, while also rushing for 41 yards on 25 carries. He made his first career start (and only start thus far) vs. SMU at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 18, as Klubnik missed the contest after suffering a sprained ankle in the Tigers’ game at Boston College one week earlier. In the 35-24 loss to SMU, Vizzina completed 29-of-42 passes for 317 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a pass efficiency rating of 156.0.

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.