Dabo Swinney isn’t tipping his hand in Clemson’s quarterback battle, but he did leave Saturday’s first fall scrimmage with one clear takeaway: both Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds kept giving him reasons to stay patient.
After the scrimmage at Death Valley, Swinney said he liked what he saw from the entire quarterback group. He didn’t dive into specifics on Vizzina or Reynolds, but he made it clear the offense kept moving and the playmaking was there.
“I thought they all did a really nice job,” Swinney said. “Again, there was nothing that disappointed me as far as just their ability to run the offense, their ability to make plays.
I mean, we had a couple of miscues. We had a turnover with the timing of the snap and the motion.
And I think we had one pick, it was a great play by the defender. But they did some good things, man.
They all made big plays. They all threw touchdowns.
They all did a nice job. CV and Tait made some nice plays with their legs.
So it was good.”
That running ability may be the most interesting piece in this competition. Clemson has often looked its best with a quarterback who can threaten defenses on the ground, and Swinney said both candidates bring that element in different ways.
“They're similar in that they're both big, and they're both strong guys,” Swinney said. “The difference is Tait's just probably a little faster, but they're both very capable (runners).
Tait can run, run, run, he can go score. CV can go get you a big chain mover, he's way more athletic than you think.”
Swinney went a step further with Vizzina, comparing him to Tajh Boyd in the way he can be used as a runner.
“I'd put him kind of Tajh Boyd -ish when it comes to probably what they're going to run on the clock, but Tajh was a pretty good runner around here," Swinney said. "He had a lot of tough first downs for us, and CV's got those characteristics.
He's a tough kid, and again, he's a big old dude, but he's pretty athletic. And he's gonna run way better than people would want him to that play him.”
Boyd’s production on the ground is the reference point Swinney had in mind. During his three-year run as a starter for Chad Morris’ offense, Boyd rushed for over 1100 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Reynolds, meanwhile, brings a different kind of danger. He’s built big too, but Swinney pointed to speed as the separator.
“And then Tait, that's just one of his gifts,” Swinney said. “I mean, he's big and fast, he can go score (at any time). So they're different in that regard, but they're similar in that they're both big, strong, effective runners.”
For now, the scrimmage hasn’t settled the race. It did reinforce why the battle is still alive: both quarterbacks have traits Clemson can use, and both have shown they can make plays.
Swinney said he hopes to name a starter before the Week 1 game against LSU, but he also made it clear he’s comfortable letting the decision go right down to the wire. He even brought up former Clemson defensive tackle coach Dan Brooks as the kind of coach who would keep everyone guessing until the last possible moment.
“I'm not really worried about it,” Swinney said. “Sure we could (wait until game time).
We sure could. Be like Dan Brooks.
Might wait for the Tiger Walk. See who walks through the Tiger Walk best.
Dan would go, I'm going to watch them in the warm-ups. I'm going to watch them all the way in the warm-ups.
The Tiger Walk, everything's going to count.”
So the competition continues, with every rep still mattering and the final call possibly waiting until Baton Rouge.
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