Clemson's Tait Reynolds Lands Surprising Ranking Before Georgia Tech

The Clemson Tigers have a very winnable game on their slate this Saturday, as they will host the lowly Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket at Memorial Stadium.

The contest should represent a great opportunity for quarterback Tait Reynolds to have a strong performance, as Georgia Tech has had one of the worst defenses in the country this season.

Reynolds hasn't exactly lit it up throughout his freshman campaign, having thrown for 1,446 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions over nine games and seven starts.

But ESPN's Billy Tucker seems to have some belief in him.

In a recent piece where Tucker ranked the top freshmen in the country this year, he had Reynolds at No. 25, and he believes that Clemson has been asking a lot from the youngster in his first season.

Tucker acknowledged that Reynolds' numbers aren't great, but he qualified that by essentially stating his extenuating circumstances have not been ideal.

That's certainly true, as Reynolds has gotten little help from his offensive line, and top weapons like T.J. Moore and Bryant Wesco have not played up to par.

But regardless, there is no denying that Reynolds' struggles have hurt the Tigers' offense as a whole in 2026.

Reynolds definitely has legs, as evidenced by the fact he has rushed for 310 yards and a couple of scores this season, and that's taking into account the fact that he has been sacked 27 times, which affects his overall rushing total (something college football absolutely needs to change; it's always been silly).

There's no doubt the former three-star recruit has shown potential, but has he done enough to stake his claim to Clemson's starting quarterback job in 2027?

I certainly don't think so.

But Dabo Swinney certainly seems smitten with his first-year signal-caller and appears to  have every intent of keeping Reynolds under center next season.

That could obviously change depending on what happens in the transfer portal. There could be some really interesting quarterbacks available.

By now, though, we know Swinney is stubborn and will generally go with his initial gut feeling, and he absolutely seems to believe in Reynolds.

Saturday certainly comprises a breakout opportunity for Reynolds, who has thrown for under 200 yards four games in a row and is coming off of a rough passing performance against Syracuse in which he went 17-for-28 with 161 yards and an interception.

Georgia Tech is the easiest game remaining on Clemson's schedule, so if Reynolds is going to have a big outing, now is the time to do it.