CLEMSON —For now, Clemson’s quarterback situation is settled, as Dabo Swinney announced on Tuesday that Chris Vizzina had earned the right to run out there first on Saturday at LSU.

Vizzina had been locked in a heated battle with freshman Tait Reynolds throughout the offseason, and offensive coordinator Chad Morris revealed on Wednesday why the veteran won out over the upstart rookie. Part of the reason Vizzina was able to hold off Reynolds was the maturity he’s developed over his first three seasons serving in a reserve role.

“I think the biggest thing with that is this is a young man that went out and won the job,” Morris said on Wednesday. “I am extremely excited for him. He did everything that he had to do to win the job. The thing I learned about him through this whole process is that he is a pretty even-keeled guy. Never gets too high or gets too low. But you love that in a quarterback.”

Vizzina has logged close to 240 snaps over his first three years, with a lot of those coming in mop-up duty. However, he did make his first career start against SMU last season in place of an injured Cade Klubnik, throwing for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns.

While Vizzina and the Tigers came out on the losing end that day, the signal-caller showed a lot of promise, particularly over the final three quarters after he’d really settled in. While Vizzina will have that experience to lean on, one of the biggest questions is how effective he can be running the ball, seeing as Morris has always liked having a quarterback who can make plays with their legs. Vizzina also hasn’t taken a hit since that day against SMU, seeing as Swinney doesn’t make his quarterbacks live during practice.

“The things that you don’t know as you go into a game like this — I know coach always talks about the purple jersey syndrome — he hasn’t been hit,” Morris added. “But he is an experienced guy because he has been hit in a game and he’s had live reps at him. But until you get into a situation like that and see how guys can break down and move and extend plays with their feet, those are the unknowns. But you go on previous experience with him.”

Vizzina was just the more consistent of the two in the lead-up to the opener, and that is why he is starting in Baton Rouge. Although that certainly doesn’t mean he’s earned the starting role for the entire season. Swinney has already said it’s “likely” Reynolds also plays Saturday, and the competition will carry into the season, meaning Vizzina has to continue to be the more consistent quarterback once the real games start.

“Just his consistency,” Morris said when asked what separated the two. “Just being the consistent guy every day. And showing up every day. Doesn’t mean that every day was a great day, doesn’t mean every day was a bad day, it just means he was consistent. There might have been periods through the course of practice that were not as good as others, but he would always respond back. And always tried to make the next period better. I think his overall ability to wash the last play and get to the next play has been big for him. Regardless of who the quarterback is, that is a trait of every quarterback is their ability to get to the next play.”