Clemson Tigers quarterback Tait Reynolds has sent a strong message to his team before his first start.
Clemson Tigers quarterback Tait Reynolds will be making his first start of the season this Saturday when Clemson hosts the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Dabo Swinney made the switch under center following the Tigers' Week 2 win over Georgia Southern, benching Christopher Vizzina — who suffered an arm injury in the victory — in favor of Reynolds.
Reynolds went 16-for-27 with 178 yards while also rushing 14 times for 38 yards in relief of Vizzina last weekend, and apparently, Swinney saw enough to facilitate a change.
While discussing his upcoming first start of his collegiate career, Reynolds sent a strong message to his team.
“It is good, it is exciting, but at the end of the day, it is not about me,” Reynolds said. “It’s just that we are trying to win games. It is about the team. We are just trying to do what we can to be 1-0 every week.”
Of course, Clemson was routed by LSU, 51-10, in its season opener, and it beat Georgia Southern — a Sun Belt team — by the skin of its teeth last Saturday.
The Tigers have been wholly unimpressive thus far, but Reynolds is trying to change that ... even though he himself didn't look great last week.
“Yeah, I made some mistakes, but those happen,” Reynolds added. “So, I am going to go out there and try and get better every single day, and out at practice. Like I said, I am going to try and do my best, do the things I can, and improve on those mistakes to be better.”
Reynolds is a former three-star recruit who just joined Clemson this year. He lost the starting quarterback job to Vizzina in fall camp, but you always got the sense that Swinney really, really liked the freshman signal-caller.
While Swinney acknowledged that Reynolds made some "boneheaded" mistakes versus Georgia Southern and that he isn't a good quarterback yet, he believes he will become one.
Reynolds certainly has a long road ahead of him, but the good news is he has some fine weapons at his disposal in the form of wide receivers .J. Moore and Bryant Wesco, among others.
We'll see if Reynolds can deliver a win in Clemson's first ACC matchup Saturday afternoon.
