The first chapter of Clemson’s quarterback battle was written in a lopsided loss at Tiger Stadium, and it didn’t give Dabo Swinney any easy answers.
Christopher Vizzina got the start Saturday against No. 11 LSU and handled most of Clemson’s 51-10 defeat, but freshman Tait Reynolds also got his turn, opening the second half and making his college debut. By the time it was over, Swinney still wasn’t ready to name a starter for next Saturday’s home opener against Georgia Southern.
“I don’t know,” Swinney said when asked if Vizzina will start that game. “We’ve gotta watch the tape and evaluate and we’ll go from there.”
Vizzina finished 10 of 16 for 83 yards with an interception in his second career start and first road start. The pick was costly: LSU returned it for a touchdown. He also ran five times for four yards, with a long of eight.
Reynolds, a three-star recruit from Arizona who enrolled in January, went 4 of 6 for 22 yards and carried five times for minus-9 yards, with a long of five. Neither quarterback threw a touchdown pass.
Swinney said the game at least gave Clemson something concrete to study as the staff works through the quarterback picture.
“We’ve got some stuff on tape now,” Swinney said. “We’ve got some real, live games to evaluate. ... There’ll be more to come on that as we play another game or two.”
Vizzina opened the game and played Clemson’s first seven series. He didn’t look rattled by the stage, but the offense never found a rhythm, and one mistake loomed larger than everything else. Swinney called Vizzina’s pick-six at the 2:07 mark of the first quarter a “game-changer,” and it came at a moment when Clemson had briefly held a first-quarter lead.
Vizzina said of the interception, “I just never saw him,” Vizzina said postgame. “... Definitely one I want back.”
He did have one sharp throw, connecting with Bryant Wesco Jr. on a back-shoulder pass for 22 yards in the first quarter, and Swinney said the veteran quarterback made “a couple nice throws.” But Clemson’s offense was a mess in Chad Morris’ return as coordinator.
That throw to Wesco was Clemson’s only first down of the entire first half, even with Vizzina playing seven series and Reynolds getting one. The Tigers’ only first-half points came after Ashton Hampton’s interception set them up at LSU’s 33, but Clemson managed just two yards on three plays and settled for a field goal.
Otherwise, the Tigers never crossed midfield.
“We just never really gave ourselves a chance to settle in,” Swinney said of Clemson, which finished with seven three-and-outs on 13 offensive possessions.
Reynolds’ first extended action came under tough circumstances, but Swinney had hinted it might happen, saying in his ABC halftime interview that he inserted Reynolds to try to spark the offense. The freshman showed some athletic ability, but the drive-by-drive results were uneven.
His first possession began with a 7-yard completion to Tyler Brown. Then came a six-yard sack on second down.
On third and long, he short-armed a throw to T.J. Moore while scrambling right, even though he may have had room to run for a first down.
Reynolds also played Clemson’s first three series after halftime.
His best throw came on that opening second-half drive, when he hit Moore for 11 yards. After that, the production dried up. Clemson punted on all four series he directed.
“It was good to be able to get him in there, let him play and let him get hit a little bit,” Swinney said of Reynolds. “Again, wish it’d been different circumstances.”
Vizzina came back for Clemson’s final two series and led the team’s lone touchdown march, an eight-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a David Eziomume rushing score. Vizzina completed passes of six and 25 yards on that fourth-quarter possession, though much of the action came against backup-level competition.
Even with the rough outing, Swinney suggested both quarterbacks will see the field again against Georgia Southern.
For Vizzina, the situation is straightforward even if it isn’t simple.
“To be honest, we’re just trying to do our best,” Vizzina said. “It’s definitely a unique situation, but, hey, you can’t control it.”
Reynolds echoed that support runs both ways.
“When he goes in, I’m 100% supporting him,” Reynolds said of Vizzina. “He’s a great dude.
Love being around him. And I know he would say the same about me.”
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