Clemson Tigers offensive coordinator Chad Morris has sent a bit of a warning to his quarterbacks before the Spring Game.
For the past three seasons, Cade Klubnik provided stability under center for the Clemson Tigers. Sure, his 2025 campaign did not exactly go according to plan, but at the very least, Clemson clearly knew who its starting quarterback was.
That isn't the case anymore.
Klubnik is headed to the NFL, and while Christopher Vizzina — who started one game last season — is said to be in "pole position" to win the job (per Dabo Swinney), there are no guarantees.
Heck, we even saw freshman Tait Reynolds getting second-team reps earlier in the week, this even though the quarterback competition was expected to be a two-horse race between Klubnik and Chris Denson.
The Tigers will be playing their Spring Game this Saturday, which should tell us quite a bit about where the signal-caller battle stands.
Offensive coordinator Chad Morris touched on it heading into the contest, and he made it clear that big things will be expected.
Clemson Tigers offensive coordinator Chad Morris. Credit: Ken Ruinard / USA Today Co / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.“Just commanding the offense and dealing with adversity, because there’s going to be adversity Saturday,” Morris said.
So basically, Vizzina and Co. better be ready to produce in the face of pressure.
Morris noted that he has been impressed with Vizzina, but it seems pretty clear that the jury is still out on the redshirt junior, who arrived at Clemson as a four-star prospect in 2023 and had been waiting behind Klubnik ever since.
During his lone start in 2025, Vizzina went 29-for-45 with 317 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to SMU. The numbers looked good, but many have questioned whether or not the Birmingham, Al. native is anything more than a game manager.
Unless Vizzina bombs in the Spring Game, it seems hard to imagine Denson or any of the other quarterbacks doing enough to surpass him this weekend.
That being said, there is obviously pressure on Vizzina, who remains vastly unproven and definitely needs to earn his keep.
Clemson went just 7-6 last season, marking its worst finish since going 6-7 back in 2010, which was Swinney's second full year as head coach.
The Tigers will open up at LSU on Sept. 5.
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