Clemson has inked its latest blue-chip quarterback, a significant development for the Tigers in more ways than one.

Briarwood Christian (Alabama) School four-star signal caller Christopher Vizzina signed his National Letter of Intent with Clemson this morning when college football’s early signing period officially began. Vizzina, ranked in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 39 overall high school recruit, had been committed to the Tigers since April.

Vizzina’s verbal pledge came just a handful of months after Clemson got serious about its pursuit of the 6-foot-4, 207-pounder, who competed in the Elite 11 competition over the summer. After falling behind in the Arch Manning sweepstakes, Clemson made Vizzina its top target at the position by offering him a scholarship late last year.

As it stands now, Vizzina is Clemson’s third scholarship quarterback for the 2023 season and a viable competitor in a position room that already includes Cade Klubnik, who’s set to make his first career start in the Orange Bowl after signing with Clemson last year as a five-star recruit. Worst case, Vizzina, who chose the Tigers over offers from Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame and Ohio State among others, will add quality depth that Clemson needs at the position heading into next season.

But given the name, image and likeness (NIL) climate that’s rapidly heating up in college athletics, the impact of Vizzina’s addition goes beyond the field.

While third parties who are arranging NIL deals for players nationwide aren’t supposed to be using them as recruiting enticements, it would be naive to think that’s not happening behind the scenes. Former top recruit Quinn Ewers, who’s since transferred to Texas, had an NIL deal north of $1 million waiting on him once he arrived on Ohio State’s campus last year after initially signing with the Buckeyes. At Tennessee, in what’s believed to be the largest NIL deal so far for an amateur athlete, The Athletic reported in March that a five-star recruit in the 2023 class had signed an $8 million deal with the school’s NIL collective. California quarterback Nico Iamaleava committed to the Vols shortly thereafter and has since enrolled at the school.

Perhaps Vizzina has an NIL deal awaiting him once he arrives on campus. He could also cash in on his share of NIL opportunities once he’s an established commodity at Clemson the way former quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei did and the way Klubnik has. Compared to many other Power Five schools, though, Clemson is behind in the NIL game even if the Tigers are officially playing it now.

Two collectives founded since the spring, TigerImpact and Dear Old Clemson, are providing NIL opportunities for student-athletes across various sports, but Clemson still can’t provide the same amount of money for its athletes when some of its primary competitors are paying out millions to one athlete alone. That makes the culmination of Vizzina’s recruitment all the more important for Dabo Swinney’s program.

Regardless of what Vizzina does or doesn’t have lined up at this point, it didn’t take a front-end deal that broke the bank to land a top-50 recruit. It goes to show that Clemson’s winning culture as well as its next-level development are still appealing selling points for some of the nation’s top prospects.

During a time in college athletics when the dollar is mightier than ever, that bodes well for the Tigers’ ability to continue recruiting at a high level while trying to play catch-up in the NIL game.

Dear Old Clemson has added the Tiger Sack Pack to our online store.  Save by getting the Two Pack of signed cards from two of the nation’s top defensive ends, Myles Murphy and Xavier Thomas.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. 

Dear Old Clemson is doing NIL the ‘Clemson way’, but we need your help to make sure we build a sustainable, repeatable model that will help keep Clemson competitive with the other top programs around the nation.

Dabo Swinney: “We need your assistance more than ever to provide meaningful NIL opportunities. Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives allow student-athletes to utilize their voice and platform to maximize their NIL opportunities and strengthen their impact in the community.”

Graham Neff:
“Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives need your support to help provide meaningful NIL opportunities for our student athletes. We are doing things the right way, the Clemson way with integrity as a non-negotiable and we fully support the mission of these groups.”

Join the Tiger Club or Lady Tiger Club to help these great student-athletes and help the Tigers compete at the highest level!