Clemson's quarterback competition has been dragging on all offseason, and it sounds like it's basically over. According to On3's Pete Nakos, Christopher Vizzina has been taking nearly every snap with the first-team offense in practice, and the expectation across the program is that he'll be the guy under center when the Tigers open the season at LSU.
As @On3 reported this morning, QB Christopher Vizzina has taken nearly every snap with Clemson's first-team offense in practice, and the expectation remains that he will start Week 1 for the Tigers at LSU. More on other QB battles: t.co/9jtBT2tQzV
That's the clearest signal yet in a battle that's been framed as a two-man race between Vizzina, a fourth-year veteran, and Tait Reynolds, a true freshman who reportedly pushed him hard through spring ball and summer workouts. Dabo Swinney never rushed to hand this job out, and Clemson has been careful not to name a starter publicly even as the picture inside practice gets clearer by the day.
Vizzina isn't walking into this cold. He got his only career start last season against SMU on Oct. 18, stepping in for an injured Cade Klubnik and throwing for 317 yards on 29-of-42 passing with 3 touchdowns in a 35-24 loss. It wasn't a win, but it was a real look at what he can do against SEC-level speed, and it's clearly carried weight in this competition. With Klubnik now gone from the program, the job was always Vizzina's to lose — and by the sound of these practice reports, he hasn't lost it.
The opener itself raises the stakes. LSU on the road, in a hostile SEC environment, is about as tough a Week 1 test as a first-time starter can draw, and it'll be the first real measuring stick for how far Vizzina has come since that SMU start. Reynolds isn't going away either — a talented true freshman getting real practice reps against the starter is exactly the kind of pressure that keeps a QB1 sharp all fall.
Clemson hasn't made anything official, and Swinney has a track record of holding his cards close on this stuff. But when a beat reporter says a guy is taking nearly every snap with the ones, that's usually the tell before the announcement.