Fall camp at Clemson is rapidly approaching, and when practice does kick off, all eyes will be on the most important position on the field.

For the first time since the Trevor Lawrence-Kelly Bryant battle leading into the 2018 season, the Tigers are in the midst of a legit quarterback competition. While some presumed redshirt freshman Chris Denson would be the one challenging redshirt junior Chris Vizzina, it’s actually true freshman Tait Reynolds who has come in and is pushing for the job.

In fact, after the spring game, it was readily apparent that Denson isn’t even a factor in the race and a position change is likely coming for the second-year player.

“We came out of the spring, CV one and Tait is two. It’s not close,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Those two guys separated, and that’s where we are. That’s just where we are.”

When fall camp does begin, Vizzina will be the guy at the top of the depth chart. Swinney has been clear about that. However, he’s been just as clear that the competition is far from over and the gap isn’t all that wide.

“This is going to be a very competitive summer, a very competitive fall camp,” Swinney added. “(CV) was the lead horse coming in, and he’s still got the pole position.”

Vizzina is the unquestioned veteran of the quarterback room. He’s patiently waited for his turn. At the same time, while he is entering his fourth year in the program, he’s not all that experienced. He did make the one start in place of an injured Cade Klubnik against SMU last season, but outside of that, his snaps have pretty much all come in mop-up duty. So, seeing as Clemson is installing a new offense under Chad Morris, Vizzina is still somewhat of an unknown commodity.

Vizzina appeared in five games in 2025, including the one start, and completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.

Reynolds is even more of an unknown commodity, seeing as he’s just a true freshman. Not to mention, he missed most of his senior season in high school due to an injury. But he came into the spring with his hair on fire and firmly entrenched himself in the competition.

Reynolds was the No. 3 prospect in the state of Arizona and the 11th-best dual-threat quarterback nationally in the 2026 recruiting class, according to ESPN.

One thing we do know about Reynolds is that he’s the better runner of the two quarterbacks, something that could pay huge dividends in Morris’ scheme. He is a true dual-threat guy. While Vizzina might be a tad bit better of a runner than he’s shown, this is one area where Reynolds has a leg up. Having a quarterback who can gash you with his legs makes any offense that much more dangerous.

“I’ve been really proud of him. He’s done a lot of work,” Swinney said of Reynolds. “He’s got elite arm talent. Big, strong… There’s some operational things he’s got to keep getting better at, but he just got better and better and better.”

In previous years, when there was a young upstart trying to unseat the incumbent at quarterback, Swinney has always maintained that it had to be a knockout punch. Everyone remembers it took Lawrence four games to fully take over as QB1.

However, while some might view Vizzina as an incumbent, in actuality, he’s not. He’s just the older guy. Although that does carry some weight. Swinney certainly believes in him, and by all accounts, Vizzina has earned the respect of his teammates.

At the end of the day, though, you’ve got to go with the guy who gives you the best chance at winning. With Clemson coming off an extremely disappointing 7-6 campaign last season, the pressure is on, and so is the race for QB1.