What exactly is going on at quarterback for the Clemson Tigers?
The Clemson Tigers were hammered by LSU, 51-10, in their season opener last Saturday, and while quarterback was far from the only problem, it certainly wasn't a positive.
Christopher Vizzina struggled. Tait Reynolds labored. And now, Dabo Swinney isn't sure exactly what to do ahead of Clemson's matchup with Georgia Southern in Week 2.
While fielding questions from reporters about who will be under center this weekend, Swinney didn't provide a direct answer.
“I’m not going to answer any of those things, other than just they’ll both play,” Swinney said. “The team ain’t worried about it. The team’s just trying to focus on what they’ve got to do. They’re going to play for whoever runs out there. They all know the situation, that the guys are competing. But they’ll both play.”
Perhaps Swinney didn't answer what was asked because even he doesn't know.
Vizzina and Reynolds duked it out for the starting role in fall camp, but the former came out on top, as most expected.
After all, Vizzina is a redshirt junior who looked good in one start against SMU last year. Meanwhile, Reynolds is a true freshman who was only a three-star recruit.
Swinney has been criticized for not pursuing a quarterback in the transfer portal over the winter. Former Michigan State signal-caller Aidan Chiles, for example, made it clear he was interested in Clemson. The problem is that the Tigers didn't return the favor, and he ended up joining Northwestern.
Would Chiles have represented a major upgrade over Vizzina and Reynolds considering he was benched by the Spartans last season and ended up with a rather pedestrian program in the portal? Who knows, but some feel it would have at least been worth a shot.
Regardless, Swinney does not exactly have any truly enticing options at quarterback right now. But going with a two-quarterback system definitely comes with a healthy amount of cons.
We'll see if Clemson is ultimately able to settle on a starter soon, or if Vizzina and Reynolds are forced to trade blows for the No. 1 job throughout the entirety of the campaign.
The whole situation is just really bizarre for a once-elite Tigers program.
