Clemson quarterback Chris Vizzina is a rare commodity. One of the exceptions to the rule.
In an era dominated by year-to-year free agency, Vizzina has very patiently waited his turn at Clemson. Instead of bolting for a quicker opportunity at another school, Vizzina sat behind Cade Klubnik for the first three years of his college career. That’s just not something we see all that often from quarterbacks in today’s game.
With Klubnik now a member of the New York Jets, it is finally Vizzina’s turn. While he is currently in the midst of a battle for the starting job with true freshman Tait Reynolds, Dabo Swinney has made it clear on more than one occasion that Vizzina is in the “pole position.” That means it would take some kind of fall camp for Reynolds to overtake Vizzina at the top of the depth chart.
While many in the fan base believed Swinney needed to bring in a quarterback from the portal, the longtime head coach has remained bullish on Vizzina. Swinney firmly believes that Vizzina is the right guy to lead an offensive resurgence under new/old coordinator Chad Morris. And just as importantly, Vizzina believes it too.
“I believe that we didn’t need to get (a transfer QB),” Vizzina said in the spring. “Because I believe in myself and the rest of the team, and the development we had over the past year.
“It wasn’t going to matter either way. If they brought someone in, I was still going to stay because I care about Clemson. I just want to compete, and I want to be the quarterback for Clemson University. Bottom line.”
Vizzina hasn’t had a ton of opportunity over the last three seasons. He’s mostly been seen in mop-up duty, outside of his lone start at home against SMU last year in place of the injured Klubnik. While it took more than a quarter for him to find his footing against the Mustangs, Vizzina had a fairly strong showing that afternoon in Death Valley, throwing for more than 300 yards, with three touchdowns. Having said that, the Mustangs did boast one of the worst pass defenses in the country.
When the season kicks off on September 5 in Baton Rouge against LSU, it’s probably safe to assume Vizzina is going to be QB1. Barring something unforeseen, anyway. So, now is the time.
With Reynolds chipping at his heels, there won’t be much margin for error. Vizzina needs to go out and prove that he made the right decision by staying and waiting, when very few others in his position would have. And he needs to go out and show why his head coach has remained so confident in his ability. If he doesn’t, the leash isn’t likely to be all that long, and Reynolds could quickly take the reins.
