CLEMSON — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is in no hurry to name a starting quarterback, though the 23rd-ranked Tigers are just three weeks away from kickoff at No. 13 LSU on Sept. 5.
Senior Christopher Vizzina and freshman Tait Reynolds have been battling all summer to be Clemson’s new starting quarterback, but following the Tigers’ two-hour scrimmage at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Swinney is no closer to naming a starter than he was when camp opened on Aug. 6.
On Saturday, Swinney reported Vizzina and Reynolds threw touchdown passes, while someone threw a pick six to linebacker Drew Woodaz in the scrimmage. The Clemson coach did not say which quarterback threw the interception.
However, Swinney liked what he saw from his top two quarterbacks in the scrimmage and is encouraged regardless of who he picks to start the LSU game. The head coach said he was hopeful he will name a starting quarterback before the game, but, at the same time, he is not really worried about it.
Swinney even suggested he might not name a starter until a few minutes before kickoff.
“We sure could. We sure could. We could be like Dan Brooks,” he said.
Dan Brooks, of course, was Clemson’s longtime defensive line coach, who helped the Tigers win the 2016 National Championship before he retired. Brooks was notorious for not naming who his starters would be at defensive tackle until after kickoff.
“We might wait until Tiger Walk to see who walks at Tiger Walk,” Swinney said with a grin. “When Dan Brooks had Grady [Jarrett], Carlos [Watkins], [D.J.] Reader, [Scott] Pagano, Josh Watson and all of those guys, the only guy you knew was going to start was Grady. And all of those other guys knew it too.
“So, there was like four guys for one spot, and I never knew who was starting until they ran out there.”
Swinney said Brooks took pride on who ran out on the field first. So, he might go in that direction when comes to the LSU game. No one will know until we see who runs out on Tiger Stadium first.
“They are competing their butts off,” Swinney said about his quarterbacks.