The 2026 Clemson season is going to look a lot different, and that’s putting it mildly.
The Tigers are coming off a 7-6 year, then watched a school-record-tying nine players get selected in the 2026 NFL draft. They also lost 14 players to the transfer portal and added their biggest transfer haul ever, with 11 newcomers.
ESPN has Clemson bringing back 53 percent of its production from last season, which puts the Tigers at 60th among Division I FBS programs. In other words, Dabo Swinney is rebuilding around a new cast, and a few players suddenly carry a lot more weight than they did a year ago.
One of the biggest swing pieces is quarterback Christopher Vizzina.
He has not been officially handed the starting job for 2026, but Clemson would like nothing more than for that to happen before the Tigers open against LSU on Sept. 5. If Vizzina wins the job, it would also support Clemson’s decision not to chase a quarterback in the transfer portal.
“We made a decision that we weren’t gonna go and get some shiny object at quarterback. If it doesn’t work out, we’re just gonna be raked over the coals for that,” Swinney said at ACC Kickoff July 17. “There’s a reason why we had confidence in the decision that we made, and it’s because we’re there every day.”
True freshman Tait Reynolds is the main competition, and he brings the kind of physical tools that can turn heads. But Vizzina has three full seasons in the program and one start already on his résumé, and that kind of familiarity matters at quarterback.
If he opens the season as Clemson’s No. 1, Reynolds probably only gets the job under less-than-ideal circumstances - either a rough start or an injury.
That makes Vizzina a major factor in how the Tigers begin 2026.
Bryant Wesco Jr. is another name that jumps off the page.
The junior receiver already has preseason recognition, landing one of Clemson’s four spots on the 2026 All-ACC preseason team. That buzz comes with a caveat, though: it’s built on the first half of 2025 before a back injury ended his season against SMU.
Before that injury, Wesco was tracking to be Clemson’s most productive receiver. He finished with 31 catches for 537 yards and a team-best six touchdowns in just six full games. Clemson receivers coach Tyler Grisham said at media day on July 14 that Wesco is a full go heading into the first fall practice on Aug. 6, and Grisham called him “phenomenal” in spring while he was limited to non-contact work.
“He was doing the the routes on air with the quarterbacks. He was doing all the (individual drills), some team separate stuff,” Grisham said. “So he got a lot of reps, and he looked phenomenal.”
If Wesco looks anything like the version Clemson had before the injury, he has a real chance to lead the Tigers in receiving production in 2026.
Then there’s Sammy Brown, who may be the clearest defensive centerpiece left on the roster.
Brown is entering his junior season after stacking up major honors in back-to-back years. He won ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024, earned All-ACC first-team honors in 2025, and led Clemson with 107 tackles last season. He also carries preseason weight into 2026, making the All-ACC preseason team and picking up 11 votes in the ACC Preseason Player of the Year poll.
The challenge now is different. With T.J.
Parker and Avieon Terrell gone to the NFL, Brown is the name opposing offenses will key on. Clemson still has Will Heldt and Ashton Hampton around him, but the defense looks like it runs through Brown now, especially at linebacker.
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