Clemson is making a quarterback change heading into Saturday’s matchup with North Carolina, and Dabo Swinney made the call public on Tuesday.
After meeting separately with Tait Reynolds and Christopher Vizzina during his weekly press conference, Swinney said Reynolds has edged into the starting role. At the same time, he was careful not to shut the door on Vizzina after a rough stretch.
“It’s a tough situation," Swinney said. "I haven’t lost any faith in CV.
Not at all. We have a good situation.
We can win with either one of them. We knew coming out of the spring it was going to be a good competition.
Now we have two games, and we just feel like Tait has moved ahead. He wasn’t perfect, but we saw some things in games that we saw in the spring.
"You hate it because it was there for CV, but this is a performance deal. You grade players on it every play. The things that were there for him to keep the job, he didn’t do the routine things that he needed to do."
Clemson’s offense has sputtered through two games, averaging 246 yards of total offense and just 16 points per game, which is dead last in the Power Four. The Tigers did rebound from a 52-10 opening-week loss to LSU with a 22-7 win over Georgia Southern, but that result wasn’t enough to quiet the criticism.
Reynolds finished last week with 178 yards after Vizzina left with an arm injury, and Swinney said the Tigers still believe there’s more in the tank.
“I know it seems like we're a mile away," Swinney added. "But we're a lot closer than you think."
Clemson hosts UNC on Saturday at noon ET on ESPN.
In Other News...
UNC's New Coach Just Reignited Something Tar Heels Fans Value Most
Nearly 200 former North Carolina mens basketball players came back for an alumni reunion weekend that mixed social events with a dinner at the Dean Smith Center, a reminder of how much the programs history still matters in Chapel Hill. The gathering was organized by coach Malone, who has no prior UNC ties beyond his daughter playing volleyball there, but quickly made it clear he intends to lean into one of the biggest selling points of the job: the sense of a Carolina family that stretches across generations.
Malone plans to turn the reunion into an annual event and keep finding ways to bring former players closer to the program moving forward. For a fan base that prizes continuity, tradition and connection as much as wins, the weekend offered an early signal that the new coach understands what makes the Tar Heels unique. The next question is how far that renewed alumni involvement can reach once the season starts and the demands of the job settle in. [Read more 🡒]
UNC May Have Found One Edge That Could Carry Them Through The ACC
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Belichicks bigger point was about survival as much as performance. Depth can look like a luxury in September, but it tends to become a necessity once injuries start piling up and the available pool shrinks fast, and UNC seems to believe it has at least given itself a better chance to keep functioning when the season gets rough. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Belichicks Defensive Role At UNC Just Got A Lot Clearer
Preparing for Clemson is always a test of poise as much as scheme, and North Carolinas outside linebackers room is feeling that buildup under Ty Nichols. Speaking before the trip, Nichols talked about getting his players ready for the environment they are about to walk into, praised colleague Jamie Collins for the work he is doing with the defense and pointed to transfer defensive lineman Isaiah Johnson as one of the newcomers helping deepen the unit.
Nichols also offered a clearer window into how Bill Belichick has fit into the defensive side during Steve Belichicks medical leave. The head coach has been actively involved in the coaching process, adding another layer to a staff that is already adjusting in real time while trying to keep the focus on a difficult conference road game. How that extra voice shows up on game day will be something worth watching once the Tar Heels get to Clemson. [Read more 🡒]