Chris Vizzina is one of those rare breeds.

In this era of NIL and the transfer portal, it’s not often you see a college quarterback willing to sit behind a starter for three years. That’s what Vizzina is doing. Add in that he was a fairly highly-touted quarterback prospect coming out of high school, and it’s even rarer that we see a quarterback willing to do what Vizzina’ doing.

Seeing as he’s entering his third year with the Tigers and his second as the backup to starter Cade Klubnik, the coaching staff is expecting the former four-star prospect to take a big jump in his development.

“Big year for him,” offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Garrett Riley said after Monday’s practice. “He’s gotten a ton of reps already. All these guys need to improve and it always starts with decision-making.”

Knowing that Vizzina is one play away from having to take over as the starting quarterback, and on a team with national title aspirations, it’s imperative that he’s ready to go out and produce whenever his number might be called.

“All these guys are talented right,” Riley added. “They’ve got a skillset. They are at Clemson, so they’ve got a skillset. I think for us to have that sharp execution offensively, every one of those quarterbacks, and especially CV, it’s that decision-making.”

Last season as a redshirt freshman, Vizzina saw limited action in mopup duty. He appeared in seven games, completing 19-of-34 pass attempts for 190 yards. He also rushed for 68 yards, including his first career touchdown run that came on a fourth down play in a blowout win over App State.

It was certainly a season to build on, and with Clemson now being more than halfway through spring practice, that is exactly what Vizzina is doing.

“That comes with reps,” Riley said. “It’s not like he’s deficient, or anything like that in that area. That comes along with reps. That comes along with confidence. And that is what we’re starting to see with him.”