Clemson Has No Choice But to Pursue a QB in the Transfer Portal

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney hates the transfer portal. We all know. That's why it came as a complete shock when he actually went out and landed 11 players in the portal last winter.

However, one area Swinney did not address was the quarterback position, much to the chagrin of Clemson fans everywhere.

Swinney instead relied on Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds to decide the job under center, and while Vizzina won the job out of camp, it took him all of two games to lose it.

Reynolds has definitely flashed potential thus far, and as a true freshman, he has plenty of room to grow. The problem is what's behind him.

Vizzina has one year of eligibility remaining and is just about guaranteed to transfer. Trent Pearman is already in his final year. Chris Denson has changed positions.

That means the only other current quarterback the Tigers would have on their roster for 2027 is Brock Bradley, who is a true freshman just like Reynolds.

Clemson does have three-star commit Kharim Hughley coming in for next season, so he'll be available, too. But there is no question the Tigers will have to land a more experienced body in the portal.

What that looks like, I have no idea. It's not something Swinney does, and it seems pretty clear that Swinney is devoted to Reynolds for next season. In that scenario, you might have a hard time convincing another signal-caller to join your squad.

But somehow, some way, Swinney has to make it happen.

There is absolutely no way Clemson can comfortably roll into 2027 with Bradley serving as the unquestioned backup. Swinney likes him, but he has proven nothing yet. The Tigers actually need someone who has shown he can throw the football on the collegiate level.

It will certainly be interesting to see how Swinney approaches the situation.

And I guess we cannot entirely rule out the possibility of Swinney trying to find some competition for Reynolds in the event that the youngster looks terrible the rest of the season, but considering how poised he appeared against Miami, that doesn't seem all that likely.

Vizzina was supposed to be Cade Klubnik's successor. Reynolds was then supposed to follow Vizzina. Obviously, it didn't work out that way, and it has created quite a conundrum for Clemson.

Swinney is definitely going to be more focused on the remainder of the 2026 campaign than he will be for the quarterback situation a year from now, but it is something he should absolutely have in the back of his mind.