Clemson quarterback Chris Vizzina doesn’t put much stock in the opinions of outsiders, but even he readily admits some of the outside noise has been hard to block out.

A year ago, as the backup to starter Cade Klubnik, Vizzina witnessed firsthand what can happen when a team starts believing too much in its own hype.

The Tigers came into the season ranked inside the top five, and with College Football Playoff aspirations. Some were even picking Clemson to win a national title. Then the season began, and Vizzina watched on as the Tigers dropped three of the first four contests, which included a blowout loss at home to a Syracuse team that won just one ACC game all season.

Coming into this season, there is no preseason hype. Clemson is now considered by many to be just another team in a mediocre ACC. This team is even facing plenty of doubt from inside its own fan base. As Vizzina said recently, the Tigers backs are pressed firmly against the wall.

“Last year, as a team, everyone was telling us how great we are,” Vizzina recently said on the Stuck In My Thoughts podcast. “They thought we could win the whole thing. Had all these first-round draft picks, and we did have a bunch of draft picks, but at the same time, I felt like we listened to that a little too much. Now it is the opposite. That is how I want it to be. When you look at it, some of the best years of Clemson football was when the backs were against the wall. Last time Coach Morris was here, that is how it was when he got there.”

Vizzina is certainly focused on securing the starting job at quarterback as the Tigers get set to begin fall camp next month, but he’s also plenty focused on what he wants to do once he officially wins the job. The fourth-year quarterback wants to see the joy back in the fan base, and he fully believes this team is capable of doing just that.

“I think this team has come together knowing that people don’t truly believe in us,” Vizzina said. “I think we are one of the best teams in the country. We have the talent. We just got to go put it together.”

Vizzina has patiently waited his turn, watching from the sidelines the past three seasons as Klubnik was the starting quarterback. He did make his first career start against SMU last year in place of an injured Klubnik, and he performed well, throwing for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns, but it was in a losing cause, as the Mustangs came away victorious.

However, this is a new season. One with new goals, and Vizzina is setting his sights on something big. He wants to put Clemson back on the map in the national landscape. But even more than that, he wants to inject some new energy into the fan base.

“National championship. Bring Clemson back to the top. That is what we are talking about,” Vizzina said. “But honestly, I just want to see the Clemson community happy again. I don’t play for the opinion of others, but I love Clemson with everything I have. Like I tell people, I am a true Clemson man. I bleed orange. But I just want to bring the happiness and the excitement back.”