Clemson's Quarterback Battle Leaning Towards Candidates Ahead of LSU

The 2026 offseason has brought plenty of storylines for the Clemson Tigers, but one involves the most important position of them all: quarterback. Now, with almost a week until the beginning of their season, there’s a candidate that the program is leaning towards.

According to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, redshirt junior Christopher Vizzina remains the favorite to start at quarterback for the Tigers ahead of their matchup with No. 11 LSU in Baton Rouge on Sept. 5. He is currently beating out true freshman Tait Reynolds for the starting job.

Christopher Vizzina continues to be the favorite in the Clemson quarterback competition, sources tell @CBSSports.

Former Class of 2023 top-80 overall recruit. Threw for 317 yards and three TDs vs. SMU in his one start last year. Clemson opens this season against LSU next week. pic.twitter.com/WioRCQKaFh
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) August 27, 2026

This doesn’t come as a surprise, whether you are near the program or know how head coach Dabo Swinney runs his program typically. To begin the season, he goes with experience over talent, and whether Vizzina has the tools to be the long-term starter or not, it would be unusual for him to go against his standards.

He’s backed Vizzina the entire time, too, throughout the process.

“CV earned the opportunity to be the starting quarterback at Clemson based on everything we’ve observed,” Swinney said at ACC Kickoff. “If we didn’t think he was good enough or he hadn’t demonstrated the things he could control at that point in his career, we might have made another decision.”

The expected starter’s sample size is small, but his only start brought plenty of optimism to the program in October 2025. Vizzina finished with 317 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to SMU, but he didn’t have a lot of ground game support in the contest. Clemson only amassed 35 total rushing yards, making the quarterback have to go win the game with his arm.

Especially with offensive coordinator Chad Morris' philosophy of running the football, that will change in 2026.

It’s also important to note that Reynolds didn’t play in his senior year due to injury, and sending him out first to a crowd with over 100,000 LSU fans present could be a recipe for disaster.

All in all, nothing has changed in Clemson’s quarterback battle, although Reynolds has put up a fight every step of the way, according to Swinney. It will be Vizzina’s job to lose throughout the season, but if he underperforms, he has somebody right behind him to take advantage of the open opportunity in Death Valley.

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