Clemson's Dabo Swinney Clearly Wanted to Make This Change All Along

Well, it's official: the Clemson Tigers have made a change at quarterback, benching Christopher Vizzina in favor of Tait Reynolds after just two games.

And no, it's not because Vizzina suffered an arm injury against Georgia Southern.

It's because Swinney feels that Reynolds is the man for the job.

“It’s (based) on how they played,” Swinney said. “We just feel, based on opportunity, mistakes and body of work, Tait has earned the opportunity to start.”

Reynolds relieved Vizzina in the first half on Saturday and ended up going 16-for-27 with 178 yards while adding 38 rushing yards in a 22-7 victory.

It certainly wasn't pretty by any stretch, but considering how rough Vizzina looked against LSU in Week 1 and that one of his first seven passes versus Georgia Southern was an interception, Swinney had clearly seen enough.

And let's be honest: this was a decision that had been brewing for quite some time.

Swinney did not hide the fact that Vizzina was on thin ice. Not in spring practice, not in fall camp and not over the first two weeks of the regular season.

The two-time national championship-winning coach has also been very effusive in his praise for Reynolds, a true freshman whom Clemson acquired as a three-star commit back in July 2024.

While speaking about Reynolds on Sunday, Swinney was glowing, bragging about Reynolds' ability to use his legs and extend plays ... something that has never been a strength for Vizzina.

Reynolds also has a big arm, and while Vizzina has decent arm talent, it doesn't really have the snap of Reynolds'.

The primary reason why Vizzina started the season under center was because he was a redshirt junior who was initially expected to be the heir to Cade Klubnik. Clearly, it hasn't worked out, and you can glean that Swinney was never truly confident it would.

Which is what makes Swinney's refusal to add a quarterback via the transfer portal that much more befuddling, but perhaps he was really that confident in Reynolds.

The always-forthright Swinney added that Reynolds did some "boneheaded stuff" against Georgia Southern and even said "he ain't a good one right now, but he's gonna be."

Clearly, Swinney sees quite the future for Reynolds, who is still just an 18-year-old kid whose rawness is entirely understandable.

At no point throughout this entire process has Swinney talked about the Vizzina the way he has talked about Reynolds, so you could see this coming.

The fact that Swinney had a quick hook was hardly surprising. Now, we will get to see how Reynolds responds against North Carolina next Saturday.